RACE RELATIONS
THETO MAHLAKOANA: SA’s workplaces are fraught with racial bias and it's getting worse
Race relations in South African workplaces have always been the elephant in the room, causing peril for employers and workers. This is because of advice by employment specialists that they look for external causes, instead of their own environments, when racial conflicts occur. The Labour Market Monitor and Employee Expenditure Report released by labour analyst Andrew Levy and other researchers last week showed that race relations among employees are deteriorating. Levy said this problem manifested in the frequency with which "the race card" was used at workplaces. He said employees often reported supervisors and managers for racism, even when it could not be proven. Another contributor to the report blamed the "politics of populism" in social discourse, saying rhetoric about race from politicians had upset the status quo at workplaces.Factories and businesses have never been a comfortable or harmonious space for many black South Africans, but admitting that could take a while for s...
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