ConCourt racism ruling welcomed

EMPLOYERS and employees should welcome the Constitutional Court judgment which held that a former SA Revenue Services (SARS) employee who used the k-word should not be reinstated‚ an employment law practice lawyer said.

Jacobus Kruger‚ a former antismuggling officer at the Cape Town International Airport‚ was dismissed in 2007 for calling his team leader, Abel Mboweni, the k-word.

Kruger pleaded guilty in a disciplinary hearing and was issued with a final warning letter‚ valid for six months. He was also suspended for 10 days without pay.

But when then SARS commissioner Pravin Gordhan got wind of the sanction‚ he upgraded Kruger’s sanction and fired him. Kruger successfully challenged his dismissal at the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration and got his job back.

Now‚ after a lengthy legal battle by SARS‚ the Constitutional Court set his reinstatement aside yesterday.

Johan Botes‚ head of the employment law practice of law firm Baker & Mckenzie‚ said the question the court was asked to deal with was: “May an employee who uttered racist statements be placed back into the same workplace.”

Botes said the Constitutional Court left everyone in no doubt that racist behaviour would not be tolerated in South Africa.

SARS has welcomed ConCourt’s ruling. It said it was committed to building a truly transformative culture that would contribute to the building of a non-racial South Africa. – TMG Digital