Review of Alleged "Discriminatory" Public Holidays

Schedule 1 of the Public Holidays Act (PHA) of 1994 designates the following as public holidays in the Republic of South Africa:

• New Year`s Day (1 January)
• Human Rights  Day( 21 March)
• Good Friday
• Family Day
• Freedom Day ( 27 April)
• Workers`Day 1 May)
• Youth Day (16 June)
• National Women`s Day (9 August)
• Heritage Day (24 September)
• Day of Reconciliation (16 December)
• Christmas Day (25 December)
• Day of Goodwill (26 December).

The designated list is subject to the proviso that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday it shall be transferred to the Monday that follows. Notwithstanding this, any public holiday is interchangeable for any other day by agreement between an employer and an employee. In accordance with the powers vested in him the President may declare any day to be a public holiday throughout the Republic (or any part of it) by proclamation in the Government Gazette.

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) announced that it had received a number of complaints about the present schedule of public holidays in South Africa being biased in favour of Christians. Some of the complainants claimed that the two public holidays falling on Good Friday and Christmas Day favoured Christians and accordingly discriminated against other religions. Followers of other faiths have to sacrifice a day of leave in order to observe their religious holy days they claimed.

At least one complainant went further suggesting that no public holiday should be linked to any religion or faith while another complainant felt that there is a need for greater recognition and respect of indigenous African religions too. 

Advocate Phogane Morerou, Chief Executive Officer of the CRL Rights Commission said, "we want to gather information from the communities and determine whether there is discrimination or not, and if there is whether such discrimination is fair or unfair" He indicated that once the review is completed the CFR will submit a report with recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs and the Office of the Presidency for a possible review of the existing legislation.

Hearings will be held in Gauteng, Free State, Durban and Cape Town during June 2012. Readers wanting to attend are urged to watch the media for dates and venues.

Pieter Rautenbach