Cape Town – After being on the receiving end of much public outrage, South African retail pharmacy chain Dis-Chem, has withdrawn its internal memorandum to staff from its founder and CEO Ivan Saltzman that called for a moratorium on hiring white people.
The memorandum was leaked over the weekend.
In the memorandum, Saltzman explained that after a recent review of the Employment Equity profile in the total organisation and the recent BBBEE verification process, the organisation’s efforts to effect transformation in terms of its employee profile remained inadequate.
On Monday, however, the Dis-Chem board released a statement, addressing the memorandum.
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“We regret the wording and tone of an internal memorandum that has been erroneously widely shared,” the statement read.
“We acknowledge that it did not reflect our values. Its release did not follow our correct internal vetting processes and steps have been put in place to ensure that, going forward, relevant checks and balances are thoroughly duly performed.
“We sincerely regret the offence and distress it caused to so many people, including our staff and millions of loyal customers,” it added.
Read the full statement here:
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Picture: Facebook/Dis-Chem Pharmacies
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
