Solidarity welcomes Mbeki’s comments

President Thabo Mbeki’s comments that there should be no discrimination between members of the designated group in the implementation of affirmative action, have been welcomed by the trade union Solidarity. The President’s comments were made in response to the case of a coloured Solidarity member. An arbiter found that Eskom had acted correctly in appointing a black applicant in preference to the better qualified coloured person, on the grounds of the low percentage of black staff in the department in question. Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans says companies should have clear guidelines on ways in which affirmative action can be implemented without creating new forms of discrimination.