The Freedom front Plus views the SAA’s recruitment process for aspiring pilots as illegal and will be laying complaints with the Human Rights Commission and the Public Service Commission.

According to the daily newspaper Beeld of 17 August 2012, the SAA’s online system which deals with applications, stops any applicant which identifies themselves as white. “The FF Plus finds this action to be one of the most glaring examples of blatant racial discrimination by any government institution to date.

The party is of the opinion that this action is illegal as there have been a number of judgments in the Labour Court which indicate that a position cannot be kept vacant if no person from a designated group can be identified to fill the position. This implies that a white person can get the position in such an instance and that everybody should be allowed to apply for the position.

The blatant blocking of an application based upon race is therefore undermining these court decisions,” Adv. Anton Alberts, the FF Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on labour said. “This action in opposition to the Labour Court’s position undermines the fundamental rights of white applicants and that is why the Human Rights Commission should look into the matter.

Furthermore, the SAA is busy enforcing an unfair recruitment practice as a public enterprise and that is why the Public Service Commission, which supervises the state’s human resources practices, should investigate this practice. It is time to, for once and all, decisively address affirmative action which as an outdated instrument is busy restricting the country’s economy,” Adv. Alberts explained.

The FF Plus still believes that affirmative action’s time has passed given the increasing income gap which is prevalent amongst all race groups and that the sunset phase of this practice should now start.