I have been
somewhat bemused by the numerous calls to boycott Woolworths. This call for a boycott comes amidst
accusations that Woolworths apparently excludes whites from employment.
I believe that the
call to boycott Woolworths was started by a chap by the name of Justin Harrison,
who is apparently an Internet marketing guru.
He both wrote about the racist practices of Woolworths on his Blog, Justin Harrison, and also tweeted:
“We are calling for a boycott on all
#Woolworths SA stores until they provide equal job oppertunities not based on
race.”[Sic]
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| Vreesloos Afrikaans |
There have been
many others who also felt the need to express their thoughts on the
matter. For example, Vreesloos Afrikaans,
whose background picture on Twitter is of oxen pulling an ox wagon, tweeted that: “If a white person can’t work at Woolies, why
must we spend our money there?” I
think the oxen and his profile picture clearly indicate that he has issues with modern South Africa.
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| Steve Hofmeyr |
Then there was
the ever-controversial Steve Hofmeyr who also felt that he needed to jump on the bandwagon. He tweeted: “Gonna be hard, but goodbye Woolies.”
Dirk Hermann,
from the trade union, Solidarity, also weighed in saying that it intended
starting a campaign against the retailer if it did not change job
advertisements on its website stating that only black, coloured and Indian
candidates would be considered.
Listen, the
truth of the matter is that we all know that employment equity principles apply
to all companies in South Africa with more than fifty employees. This is the law and is defined in the Employment
Equity Act. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever
to do with Woolworths.
Now, personally,
as a white person, I don’t see the issue with a company stating that a position
is not for whites. I really would prefer
to know in advance whether I will or will not be considered for the advertised position.
It saves me the aggravation of applying
for the position and the frustration of getting my hopes up over something that
will never be.
The honesty of the Woolworths advert must be applauded, not condemned. It helps those who will not be considered to
focus on those advertised positions where we will have a reasonable opportunity
of getting the job.
The Woolworths
matter has been blown out of proportion and is fuelled by nothing more than a
bunch of prima donna’s looking for media exposure. They present a distorted picture of a company
that does not employ white people, which is, we all know very well, just
blatantly untrue. Sam Wilson, a digital
editor at Woolworths, puts it in a nutshell with this comment on Twitter: “Dude, I’m new and I am white. Also I am currently interviewing white people.
This just ISN’T true”.
Come on everyone, get over it already! There must surely be more important issues for us to focus on!
