Eskom faces allegations of discriminatory hiring practices after fighting a Labour Appeal Court decision that found their practice of excluding white male applicants from shortlisting was unlawful. The case stems from a 2017 job application and highlights concerns about employment equity and the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
Eskom has denied that it excludes any race or gender in its recruitment process, despite fighting in the Labour Appeal Court to be allowed to reject white male applicants from being shortlisted for an appointment.
against a Labour Court decision, which found that Eskom’s practice of not shortlisting white males for an advertised post was unlawful. The matter dates back to 2017, when Eskom advertised a post for a “Senior Manager: Outage Execution at Peaking Power Station”. Alwyn Erasmus, who worked at Eskom for 30 years, applied for the position, along with numerous other employees. On his application form, Erasmus indicated that he is an African. He and other candidates who met the minimum requirements were shortlisted. Numerous staff from Eskom’s Human Resources Department interviewed the candidates, and Erasmus was recommended for the post but not appointed. The Presiding Officer found that Erasmus’ appointment would not have caused a decline in the employment equity. However, white males were overrepresented by 16% in the Group Technology Division . Eskom saw this as a missed opportunity to improve the employment equity at the GTD. Eskom’s Human Resources division confirmed that Erasmus would not have been shortlisted if he had indicated that he was white instead of African. Erasmus requested details about the decision under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, but Eskom refused. Trade union Solidarity then brought the issue to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration as an unfair discrimination dispute on Erasmus’s behalf. In August 2018, the CCMA issued a certificate of outcome indicating that the matter remained unresolved. Solidarity then approached the Labour Court. In 2024, Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker ruled that Eskom’s approach was an unfair form of discrimination that violated the Employment Equity Act. Rabkin-Naicker held that rejecting applicants from non-designated groups at the shortlisting stage created an absolute barrier to prospective employment and advancement, contravening the Act. The Labour Appeal Court overturned this ruling, reasoning that Eskom’s policy of pipelining and giving preference to African males and females was rational. Pipelining involves promoting designated groups, in this case, women and black men, from middle management to reach the desired race and gender balance at the top. “This was a rational way to target a particular class of persons who have been susceptible to unfair discrimination at that level,” the panel of three judges ruled. Dan Marokane, Eskom CEO ; Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister of Energy and Electricity ; Mteto Nyati, Eskom chairman at the power utility’s 2025 financial results presentation, where Eskom posted a profit for the first time in 8 years. Eskom was critical of media reports stating that its Labour Appeal Court victory allowed it to exclude white males from senior management positions. To better understand its position, MyBroadband contacted the power utility with five questions, asking it to answer each one separately.3. Do you anticipate that you will, in future, exclude people based on race or gender from being shortlisted to meet your employment equity targets?5. Can you explain where in the ruling it says that excluding someone at the shortlisting stage based on race or gender is not an absolute barrier? Instead of answering MyBroadband’s questions, Eskom provided a statement regarding the court ruling and its Employment Equity statement. “While MyBroadband’s questions follow its own public interpretation of the court order, Eskom’s position remains consistent: we follow the rule of law,” an Eskom spokesperson said. “We do not exclude any race, gender or people living with disabilities, as stated in our response to your recent article.” Eskom stated that its HR strategy is grounded in building a high-performance, ethical organisation, powered by an inclusive culture that values diversity. “Our recruitment processes uphold the principles of fairness, representation, and inclusion, in line with South Africa’s Employment Equity Act and constitutional framework,” it said.The power utility maintained that the Labour Appeal Court confirmed that its employment equity plans and practices are lawful, inclusive, and do not exclude any group. “The Court affirmed that equity and representivity considerations may legitimately be applied during recruitment, provided they are not rigid quotas or absolute barriers,” it said.Eskom said employment equity targets guide long-term transformation, while each appointment remains grounded in fairness, competence, and performance.”Eskom’s strength lies in attracting and developing diverse talent to build a more representative, capable, and ethical organisation that delivers sustainable energy for South Africa.”Anton van der Bijl, Solidarity deputy CEO and head of legal servicesWhilst we are obviously disappointed with the judgment, we are obtaining legal advice as to whether there are grounds for a further referral of the matter. 2. In its response to our report about the ruling, Eskom made several statements, including “Eskom does not exclude any race group from employment.” Is that true? I think they are disingenuous. Obviously, Eskom’s workforce consists of many races. But they have a strict race-based policy inherent in all employment decisions made. If that were not true, obviously, there would not have been the necessity for us to financially invest heavily in this Court case to ensure that justice prevails. 3. Eskom said: “The Labour Appeal Court affirmed that Eskom’s employment equity measures are lawful, rational, and do not constitute an absolute barrier to any group.” Is this accurate? If that is Eskom’s deduction from this court case, it’s a bit of a stretch of the imagination. The court declared this specific matter, and the specific non-appointment of Mr Erasmus, as not discriminatory. Nothing more, nothing less. 4. Eskom said: “Eskom believes that transformation is about redress, not exclusion.” Do you agree with this statement? Quite logically, if it were about redress, a designated person would have been appointed. Yet Mr Erasmus was “excluded” without someone being “redressed”. How this can be touted as any sort of win, in any way, is beyond imagination. Yet again, we as taxpayers must foot the bill for work not being done due to someone not being appointed based on the colour of their skin. 5. Will you be challenging the Labour Appeal Court’s judgment? If so, where would a further appeal be heard?I built a Bitcoin miner for R113 that loses money now, but can make me rich if I am lucky
Eskom Employment Equity Discrimination Labour Court Hiring Practices
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