Solidarity to tackle prison authorities' AA policy

"Over 30 individual cases could be consolidated, making this the biggest affirmative action case yet in South Africa," Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann in a statement. "In these cases, the [correctional service] employees were the best candidates, but they were passed over for promotion because of the policy of absolute national demographic representivity."

Last year, Hermann noted, there was an "outcry" after government spokesman Jimmy Manyi said there were too many coloured South Africans in the Western Cape, and that they should be redistributed countrywide. "The... policy is the practical outworking of Jimmy Manyi's comments," Hermann said. "[Minister in the Presidency] Trevor Manuel responded to Manyi in an open letter, stating that his comments were not in line with the letter and spirit of the Constitution." Hermann invited Trevor Manuel to "add his voice to ours and fight with us to stop this affirmative action method."

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