Cape Town - Pharmaceutical retail giant, Dis-Chem Pharmacies, said it stood by its transformation plan despite withdrawing an original memorandum sent to staff for being “poorly worded” and a moratorium on external and internal appointments of and promotion of white individuals, still stands.
This follows controversy sparked by the company’s transformation plan after an internal circular from Dis-Chem’s chief executive, Ivan Saltzman was posted to social media, announcing the moratorium so it they could address the company’s “inadequate” transformation plan.
Dis-Chem spokesperson Colette McRobert said: “The original letter to staff was withdrawn as it was poorly worded but its intention remains.
“Dis-Chem stands by its commitment to drive transformation and the sense of urgency of this imperative to middle management throughout the group.”
The Dis-Chem board said it regretted the “wording and tone of an internal memorandum that has been erroneously widely shared”.
“We acknowledge that it did not reflect our values. Its release did not follow our correct internal vetting processes and steps have been put in place to ensure that, going forward, relevant checks and balances are thoroughly duly performed.
We sincerely regret the offence and distress it caused to so many people.
“We stand by the unequivocal imperative to continue our transformation journey.
Equality, diversity, and inclusivity are important throughout Dis-Chem, and we continue to make great strides in ensuring that we maintain progress in this area.
“We have always been cognisant of the imperative to comply with all legislation including employment equity on our journey to meet transformation targets, and with a priority of employment on merit, based on our view of giving employment preference to previously disadvantaged communities.”
Saltzman said the moratorium of the employment of white individuals was in effect as of September 19, 2022 adding that no appointments were to be made on managerial level without his direct approval.
South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) spokesperson Trevor Shaku said Saftu welcomed Dis-Chem’s decision.
“In the context of the race and gender parity regarding the distribution of workers in managerial positions across the economy, steps by managers in different companies to close such gaps are welcome.
Black Business Chamber Secretary General Mntuwekhaya Cishe: “We welcome any interventions in the labour market that seek to redress the imbalances.
“We do not mean to say that we dislike white people. All we want to see is change in the labour market. We want to see transformation in the economy.
It is still tilted towards white privilege. In so saying, what we are advocating for is fairness in the system.”
Cape Times