Feature: Unions fighting for race equality TUC22
THE KILLING of George Floyd in 2020 resulted in renewed calls for Britain’s trade unions to tackle racial injustice, within its ranks and the workplace.
Their plight worsened during the pandemic, with the employment rate for people from BME backgrounds dropping by 5.3% in the year to September 2020, compared with a 0.2% decrease in the number of employed white workers.Paddy Lillis, general secretary of USDAW, believes urgent action is required to reverse the damaging trends adversely affecting black workers within the retail, distributive, manufacturing and service sectors.
Cleaners, porters, security guards, and domestic staff working at the Barts Health group of hospitals, in London, will benefit from NHS pay, terms and conditions.The deal was struck after Unite members staged a two-week strike. It will come into effect at the end of April 2023. The PFA has lobbied football stakeholders to address the issue of under-representation of black members across the football industry and has been instrumental in developing the Player to Coach scheme.
“A lot of minority groups should be or need to be involved, because they are able to relate to players from different backgrounds. She said: ” Rather than arranging courses before consulting members we ask our union delegates what subjects will be most beneficial to them. “Players realise that the racial abuse experienced during games and online can be managed with the right support from the club they play for.
During a recent campaign, staff volunteers and activists were asked to spread the message “now is the time to join UNISON,” across the workplace. As a result of the campaign there was a 44% increase in recruitment compared to the same period last year. Mills believes it is important that UNISON continues training individuals who can skilfully negotiate on behalf of its members. She said: “We want to promote the training of members who can bargain for racial equality with employers. For example, UNISON has three black negotiators in sectors including higher education, the Environment Agency and National Health Service.
“Currently, companies with over 250 employees must publish their gender pay gap by law, but there is no mandatory requirement to publish information on the ethnicity pay gap. “But the government still seems reluctant and has not said why they are not taking action on a consultation that happened two years ago. If you do not have the facts about racial inequality in your workplace, it becomes much easier to dismiss.”
The PSED calls for “due regard” in decision-making, to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity.“We are pushing the Cabinet Office to carry out equal pay audits. We are also preparing to combat what is likely to be an attack on equalities started by the PM. Both Tory candidates have declared a war on ‘woke’, which will mean attacks on diversity policies and practices.”
The aim is that at least 50% of all policies within the EFL should have undertaken an EIA over the lifespan of the strategy. “We are focussing on discrimination cases, which includes race discrimination, to build a picture of what is happening across our membership in the various departments and among employers.”
To ensure senior managers and all staff have an awareness of challenges facing staff UNISON runs mandatory anti-racism training, as well as understanding inclusion training. In autumn UNISON will be running Inclusion Skills training for managers. “The result has been an interest in leadership roles and interview techniques, amongst black members, which will inevitably improve chances of advancement within the workplace.”
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