Pay-TV operator M-Net has moved to quash the racism allegations levelled against it, saying there is nothing untoward about its Magic in Motion Academy.
This week, trade union Solidarity accused the company of discriminating unfairly against white people. This comes after M-Net indicated, in a recent advertisement, that only black, Indian and coloured candidates may apply for a paid internship programme offered by M-Net's Magic in Motion Academy.
M-Net CEO Yolisa Phahle says the Magic in Motion Academy is M-Net's corporate social investment programme. "This internship programme allows potential applicants from the designated groups to be up-skilled in order to compete on a level playing field within the electronic media environment."
According to Phahle, the scheme provides a programme of learning that allows the interns to compete on an equal footing with applicants from the non-designated groups once job opportunities arise.
"The aim of the programme is to increase the pool of potential applicants for vacancies, as in the past whenever we had employment opportunities for this category, the pool to choose from was only limited to non-designated groups.
"This programme, therefore, enables us not to necessarily reduce the pool or exclude any potential applicant from employment as claimed, but to increase the pool that we can select from. There are no job guarantees given to those completing the programme."
She adds the law requires M-Net to remove barriers to employment and through this programme the company is providing the interns with the chance of an equal opportunity to employment.
"We appreciate and respect the concerns raised in the letter from Solidarity and have offered them the opportunity to discuss this matter in a collaborative way."
Meanwhile, the trade union yesterday insisted M-Net's recent discriminatory advertisement is not an isolated case.
According to the head of Solidarity's Centre for Fair Labour Practices, Dirk Groenewald, it has come to Solidarity's attention that this advertisement is not the first time MultiChoice has reserved vacant posts for certain race groups only.
"MultiChoice has already advertised a significant number of posts exclusively for specific race groups. It is clear that the race problem at MultiChoice is far more significant than initially thought," Groenewald said.
M-Net's response to Solidarity's initial letter contended it could possibly be attributed to a misunderstanding.
"It is impossible that any misunderstanding could have arisen as it is stated expressly that only black, Indian and coloured candidates may apply for the available internships," Groenewald says.
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