Parliament, Wednesday, 2 July 2025 – The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, Ms Sonja Boshoff, has expressed her deep concern regarding the reported treatment of a cashier employed at a filling station in Maitland, Cape Town, following their purchase of a second-hand vehicle.
The employee was reportedly subjected to invasive and demeaning conduct by the employer after acquiring a pre-owned car. According to media reports, the employer questioned how the cashier could afford the vehicle on their salary and demanded access to their personal bank statements. This unacceptable behaviour ultimately led to the cashier’s resignation.
Ms Boshoff said: “While we cannot pre-empt the findings of any formal investigation, the reported conduct of the employer is deeply troubling and raises serious questions. To interrogate a worker’s financial independence, especially in this humiliating manner, is not only patronising, It borders on racial discrimination, abuse and a toxic workplace culture. This is not the South Africa we are building,” the Chairperson said.
She emphasised that job creation must be rooted in empowerment and dignity, saying: “Employers must recognise that they hold a responsibility not only to provide jobs, but to foster an environment where employees are treated with fairness, respect and basic human decency. When a worker is forced to resign for exercising financial autonomy, something is gravely wrong.”
The Select Committee condemns this reported conduct in the strongest possible terms and calls on the Department of Employment and Labour to immediately dispatch labour inspectors to the filling station in question to assess the working conditions and broader organisational culture.
“The reported actions of the employer fly in the face of our constitutional values and the vision of inclusive economic development. Demanding bank statements from an employee is not only a gross violation of privacy, it is despicable and must not go unchallenged,” said Ms Boshoff.
She further urged that the matter is not left unresolved for too long: “This incident must be thoroughly investigated and mediated with the aim of achieving an outcome that restores dignity and justice. Not just for the worker, but for any other workers who may be experiencing similar conditions in silence.”
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE, MS SONJA BOSHOFF.
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Name: Sibongile Maputi (Mr)
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E-mail: smaputi@parliament.gov.za
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