POPCRU joins Renate Barnard case as friend of court
Police union POPCRU will join the affirmative action appeal as a friend of the court between the South African Police Service and Solidarity on behalf of Renate Barnard. The case is scheduled to be heard tomorrow at 10:00 in the Labour Court in Johannesburg.
In POPCRU's court documents, they argue that white people cannot apply for positions if affirmative action targets have not been reached. They also argue that the National Commissioner may leave positions vacant for the purpose of affirmative action.
According to POPCRU, the police set targets to reflect the national demographics within the SAPS. The position for which Renate Barnard applied, was, according to them, only intended for candidates who would have promoted representivity. They further argued that candidates who achieved the highest score during the interview, or who were recommended for promotion, cannot have a legitimate expectation to be promoted.
"POPCRU's argument places an absolute ceiling for promotion above white employees in the SAPS. They believe in the idea of absolute representivity. The purpose of promotion is therefore not to improve the police service, but to promote affirmative action.
Positions could even be left vacant for the purpose of affirmative action. Any position is created to deliver a service. If a position is left vacant, the service will not be rendered. POPCRU's argument implies that affirmative action is more important than service delivery," Dr Dirk Herman, Deputy General Secretary of Solidarity said.
Renate Barnard applied twice for promotion. On both occasions it was determined that she was the best candidate and was recommended for the position, but in each case no one was appointed in the position due to affirmative action.
No one was ever appointed in the position and the position was later withdrawn. In February 2010, Solidarity won the case on behalf of Barnard against the SAPS, but the SAPS appealed the judgement.
"The Renate Barnard case is probably the biggest affirmative action case until now in South Africa. This case will determine whether representivity is the biggest affirmative action criterion in South Africa. The judgement could result in a new turning point for the way in which affirmative action is applied in South Africa. It is increasingly accepted, especially in the public sector, that everything, even service delivery, should yield to the principle of representivity. We argue that the law does not make any such provision. If we are successful, the application of affirmative action will change forever," Hermann said.
The various court and background documents are available on www.solidaritymedia.co.za.
Statement issued by Dirk Hermann, Deputy General Secretary, Solidarity, May 3 2011
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