The Department of Correctional Services faced scrutiny over its employment equity decision after the labour court ruled in favour of a correctional services official.
Employment equity targets at the Department of Correctional Services came under the spotlight in the labour court as an employee ranked the highest for a promotion lost out as management said she did not meet their equity targets.
The employee, only noted as A Benjamin in the judgment of the Cape Town Labour Court, turned to court in claiming that the department had committed an unfair labour practice by not appointing her.
She stated that this is in light of the fact that the selection panel had strongly recommended her for the post of provisioning administration officer in the Drakenstein management area. The deputy regional commissioner, however, decided against her promotion, stating that the appointment would not be “in line” with the department's “EE targets”.
This came after Correctional Services maintained that its employment equity plan focussed on national targets, which indicated that coloured females were over-represented. Benjamin, on the other hand, argued the regional employment equity targets, showed that coloured women were actually underrepresented in the Western Cape at this level.
