CAPE TOWN - Beauty retailer Clicks called the police to remove gender-based violence activist June Dolley Major on Tuesday, after she spent the night outside its head office in a bid to get someone to receive her memorandum calling for the company to stop doing business with Heart FM.
Protesting outside the building with two other women, Celestea Pierang and Felicity Roland, Dolley Major said she would not leave until the company accepted her memorandum that Clicks stop spending money with Heart FM until a senior manager embroiled in sexual harassment allegation is removed from their employ.
But instead she said: “They sent the building manager to ask us to leave and he said he was not in the right capacity as he was not the public relations officer to accept the memorandum. He said he would call the correct person, in front of police on video, but he never came back.”
The memorandum reads: “Clicks must take a clear stance on issues like sexual harassment/assault and take active measures, such as calling off their funding to any institution or company who does not deal with these issues.”
Clicks meanwhile said the issue at hand was not theirs and that Dolley Major was “presenting a real risk to the safety our employees and visitors”.
Clicks head of marketing Dr Melanie van Rooy said: “This is not a Clicks issue. We welcome the right to peaceful protest, but we will not tolerate intimidation of staff or disruption of operations. Unfortunately, we have had to call in the SAPS to remove the protesters as they were disrupting access to our premises and presenting a real risk to the safety of our employees and visitors.
“With regards to the allegations raised, Clicks has no current marketing campaigns on Heart FM. They have alleged that Clicks Group was not willing to accept their memorandum. This is not true. They were not willing to hand it over to our designated senior staff member.
“We would like to reiterate that Clicks Group does not condone violence against women.”
Police confirmed they were called to the scene but no arrests were made.
“Police did not arrest anyone, no memorandum was received or handed over by police members attending to the complaint,” police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said.
The Heart FM employee Dolley Major is fighting for had lodged four formal grievances against a manager relating to “sexual harassment (and) discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation”, CCMA documents seen by the Cape Times stated.
She then had to sign a non-disclosure as part of a labour settlement agreement.
Heart FM said they were not able to offer comment about “other companies” and referred the Cape Times back to a previous statement by Heart FM station manager, Renee Redelinghuys, which said: “Our internal and external independent investigations could not be concluded because no evidence was ever provided to support the claims.The non-disclosure agreement relates to three separate disciplinary charges brought against the employee by the station.”
Cape Times