The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the Swedish Embassy of South Africa to address the allegations of racism, sexism and discrimination against its black employees.
The ministry’s encouragement was contained in the findings of its investigation into two formal complaints by black employees who alleged they were being discriminated against because of their skin colour.
The black employees Zaphesheya Dlamini, the embassy’s then communications and promotions officer, and Vukani Mchunu, whose position could not be established at the time of going to print, have since left the embassy and have vowed to petition the South African government to intervene.
After the investigations, Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs human resource chief Asa Ring wrote back to the embassy, stating that although, in her opinion, she could not find any evidence of discrimination, sexism and racism against the black employees, the embassy should work on dealing with the issues.
In a complaint sent to the ministry’s Mikael Lindvall in Stockholm last September, titled “Urgent concerns of discrimination, racism and sexism at the Embassy of Sweden, Pretoria”, Dlamini detailed how black employees were subjected to racially motivated treatment.
Dlamini alleged that her then-workplace was plagued by discriminatory practices under the leadership of senior management, including the ambassador, deputy ambassador and the heads of administration and development cooperation.
According to Dlamini, the staff was divided along racial lines through a hierarchical “caste system”. Black employees, particularly, are mistreated daily, with incidents of “harsh verbal treatment”, disruptions to lunch breaks and denial of leave. More troubling are the allegations of wage disparities based on race.
“Black local staff consistently receive smaller raises and are significantly underpaid compared to their white counterparts,” Dlamini asserts.
This racially motivated discrimination, as she describes it, has led to a deeply fractured workplace and perpetuated the inequalities entrenched in South Africa’s history, she said.
The embassy’s treatment of black women adds to her concerns. Several black women have left due to intolerable conditions, according to Dlamini.
“Black women are routinely spoken down to, dismissed, and portrayed as irrational,” she writes. In external partnerships, it has become “permissible for external partners to speak rudely to black women on staff without consequence”.
She concludes her letter by expressing the emotional toll these experiences have taken on her and her colleagues.
“I became a shell of my former self,” she confesses, having witnessed colleagues suffer from anxiety and distress.
Mchunu, a former employee with six years of service, wrote to Lindvall, also citing racism, sexism and disparities in salary as concerns in her resignation.
Mchunu complained about an incident at a Johannesburg ballet event where she felt demeaned. “The response I received was demeaning and left me feeling isolated and targeted,” she claimed, indicating that the verbal assault added to a hostile work environment.
Mchunu also recounted a past incident in December 2022 when she was physically assaulted by a UN Habitat stakeholder.
“This marks the second time I’ve been assaulted by stakeholders while performing my duties”.
“The treatment I received reflected a broader pattern of discriminatory behaviour that I had encountered as a black woman.”
Mchunu also complained about salary disparities. She alleged she received a lower salary increase than her colleagues, with the rationale being that she was not “enthusiastic enough”.
However, Rich said she could not find any wrongdoing by senior Swedish diplomats in Pretoria, under ambassador Hakan Juholt.
“I have asked everybody if they have any experiences of sexism or have seen any signs of sexism at the embassy. Nobody I talked to has seen that,” Ring stated in a letter dated November 24 last year.
She highlighted the embassy’s proactive measures, noting that when external partners treated local staff poorly, the embassy took a firm stance, severing ties with the offending parties.
According to Ring, “black employees were a majority of the top increases” in the last four reviews.
One procedural inconsistency involved using annual leave for sick leave. Ring suggested a policy revision to avoid future misunderstandings.
Concluding her investigation, Ring expressed her commitment to continuous improvement. “Even though my opinion is that there is no racism, discrimination or sexism at the embassy, I think it’s important for the embassy to continue to work on these issues.”
Speaking to Sunday World this week, Dlamini and Mchunu said it wasn’t clear whether the Swedish Embassy was expected to comply with South Africa’s Basic Conditions of Employment Act because “sometimes when we complain, we are told about Swedish laws”.
The duo said that some employees’ attempts to turn to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration proved fruitless since embassies enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
