scholarly journals An analysis of affirmative action in a South African public sector department

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-132
Author(s):  
H. E. Brand ◽  
S. Stoltz

The South African labour market is characterised by a diversity of ethnic and cultural groups. The public sector is experiencing pressure from social, economic, political and legislative circles to make the workplace more representative of the population. This study investigated the affirmative action process in a national public sector department in terms of its employees' perceptions of that process. A questionnaire was developed and used as measuring instrument on a random sample of the department's employee population. Results show that the affirmative action process did influence employees' perceptions of their working life and career, and that the majority of respondents perceived the affirmative action process not to be successful.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002193472110102
Author(s):  
Ollie Johnson

The 2016 impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and the decisions by new President Temer require us to focus on the life and work of Abdias Nascimento. Temer’s actions remind us that the recent efforts of Brazilian governments to be more racially inclusive and egalitarian have not been consolidated and that policies such as affirmative action, the teaching of Afro-Brazilian history and culture, and racial quotas in the public sector are at risk. Nascimento dedicated his life to fighting against White racism in Brazil and promoting government policies to improve social, economic, and political opportunities for Afro-Brazilians. He witnessed and experienced racial discrimination in his own life and observed various responses to it. Nascimento decided that he would denounce it, fight against it, organize Afro-Brazilians to empower themselves, and campaign for a racially inclusive, democratic, and prosperous country. He lived to see the early implementation of some of his policies. Nonetheless, he recognized that 500 years of White racism would not be defeated easily.


2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Brand ◽  
M. T. Silberman

Discrimination against women is a phenomenon still present in today's society. While research concerning sexual discrimination has been done, very little has been written about it under South African conditions, and almost no research has been done concerning the perceptions of female employees regarding sexual discrimination and harassment towards them. This study investigated female employees' perception of sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and job satisfaction. A questionnaire was developed and used as a measuring instrument on a probability sample of female employees in a public sector department. Results show that the respondents do not experience sexual discrimination to a large extent, and that they believe that sexual harassment will have a negative effect on job satisfaction, absenteeism and negativity towards the work environment.


Res Publica ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-97
Author(s):  
Trui Steen

Personnel management in localgovernment in Flanders bas undergone some major reforms during recent years. We examine the purposes and the extent of these reforms. Also, the new personnel management in Flemish local government is evaluated in terms of flexibility. The Flemish civil service can be considered as an Internal Labour Market. The rigidity which characterises the Internal Labour Market in local government in Flanders is shown by the fact that local government lacks discretion in elaborating the personnel statute, which still constitutes the basis of personnel management. However, the thesis that the public sector employment policy is too rigid has to be nuanced. The civil service is familiar with irregular forms ofemployment. Infact, in Flemish local government only half of all personnel are employed according to a statute.Despite some constraints on the development of more flexible personnel policies, it is still possible to find opportunities which provide hope for the development of new and modern personnel management strategies in local government.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirmala Dorasamy ◽  
Soma Pillay

This purpose of this article is to explore impediments to effective whistleblowing as a strategy for promoting anti-corruption practices within the South African public sector. Corruption, which violates the public service code of conduct; deters foreign investment, increases the cost of public service delivery, undermines the fight against poverty and unnecessarily burdens the criminal justice system. The article addresses the question on whether legislation on whistleblowing is adequate to encourage whistleblowing in the public sector. A review of literature determines that the effective implementation of whistleblowing legislation is largely dependent on addressing the challenges identified in the article. The quantitative research method was employed in the study to ascertain the views of employees in the public sector on whistleblowing. Empirical findings confirm the hypothesis that the protection of whistleblowers through legislation is inadequate to encourage whistleblowing. The article provides a conceptual framework for the effective achievement of the intended outcomes of whistleblowing in the public sector.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Razeen Davids ◽  
Thabiet Jardine ◽  
Nicola Marais ◽  
Julian C. Jacobs ◽  
Sajith Sebastian

The seventh annual report of the South African Renal Registry summarises the 2018 data on kidney replacement therapy (KRT) for patients with kidney failure in South Africa. In December 2018, the number of patients who were being treated with chronic dialysis or transplantation stood at 10 730, a prevalence of 186 per million population (pmp). Most patients are treated with haemodialysis in the private healthcare sector, where the prevalence was 839 pmp. In the public sector, which serves 85% of the South African population, the prevalence of KRT (67 pmp) remained below the level reported for 1994. Limpopo and Mpumalanga remain the most under-served provinces and Blacks the most under-served population group. The Western Cape province had the highest public sector treatment rates by a large margin and was also where most of the country’s public sector kidney transplants were performed.


Significance The negotiations follow the government’s refusal last year to pay the final annual tranche of a previous three-year deal. Containing the public-sector wage bill is seen as key for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration to rein in a spiralling debt burden. Impacts The three main rating agencies may postpone their next assessments until the wage talks gain greater clarity. Government firmness in the face of union demands could undermine Ramaphosa’s hold on the ruling ANC. With unions in a weak political position, they may have to stomach government intransigence due to lack of alternatives to Ramaphosa. Substantial concessions to unions would be divisive amid difficult budgetary choices such as below-inflation increases on social grants.


2019 ◽  
pp. 21-65
Author(s):  
Henrice Altink

Making extensive use of census data, this chapter sets out changes over time in the race and colour profile of the labour market. It shows that dark-skinned Jamaicans made considerable advances, especially in the public sector, but that even long after independence they were still largely absent from some fields and in others rarely found at senior levels. It will be argued that the stratification of the labour market by colour was largely the result of race-neutral practices, such as educational qualifications and other hiring and promotion criteria; disadvantage accumulated over time and across racial domains; and government inaction, which was partly triggered by political partisanship and economic factors.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. De Beer

A theological ethical judgment of affirmative action In the period directly before and after 1994 much consideration was given to the position of the South African labour market. It was clear that some form of affirmative action had to be instituted. In this article different ways in which affirmative action has been applied since 1994 are studied, as well as the effects thereof. Affirmative action has made it possible for many workers to occupy positions that they otherwise would not have received. Other workers have been negatively affected by affirmative action. How should this be judged? In this article a number of Biblical principles regarding labour are posed. The current application of affirmative action is judged against these principles.


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