A comparative study of employment discrimination in South Africa and Canada

• Main Author: Dlamini, David Vusi
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Port Elizabeth 2004
• Subjects: Discrimination in employment > Law and Legislation > South Africa; Discrimination in employment > Law and legislation > Canada
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/330

South Africa and Canada have emerged from a history fraught of inequalities, which were characterised by segregationist practices. Such inequalities have served as an epitome of discrimination taking place in the society and the workplace in both countries. Both South Africa and Canada had their discrimination affecting black peoples (Africans, Indians and Coloureds) and Aboriginal peoples (Indians, Inuits or Métis) respectively, women and people with disabilities. In both countries discrimination has polarised society. It is against this backdrop that both countries have attempted to eliminate unfair discrimination through the promulgation of relevant legislation that seeks to, inter alia, provide the regulatory framework in respect of employment discrimination. With the foregoing in mind, the purpose of this work is the provision of a selection of comparable aspects of employment discrimination in Canada and South Africa. This selection comprises discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, age and HIV/AIDS. The study uses, as its departure point, both countries’ constitutional framework to elicit the extent to which protection against unfair discrimination is extended to the workforce. Apart from looking at the constitutional provisions towards the elimination of unfair discrimination, reference is made to specific employment statutory provisions in order to provide a comprehensive and explicit picture of how workplace discrimination in both countries is regulated. The study focuses on substantive law from both countries about the above -mentioned aspects of discrimination. This is informed by the very nature and scope of the study because any concentration on procedural and evidentiary aspects of discrimination could lead to failure to achieve the objectives of the study. It also looks at specific Canadian and South African case law, judgments of the courts and jurisprudence in the field of employment discrimination in order that the reader is presented with a clearer picture of recent developments in addressing workplace inequalities.