NDC celebrates – and resolves to do more for – Black workers

National delegates today underlined the union’s ongoing fight for the rights of its Black members, by passing three motions in the closing sessions of conference. The first focussed on the ethnicity pay gap (EPG), which the union believes is a major cause of in-work poverty experienced by Black workers, and the cause of severe intergenerational inequality in Black communities. The EPG is as high as 23.8% in London, with regional variations across the UK. Although the government committed to asking large employers to publish information on their ethnicity pay gaps in its 2017 election manifesto, to date few companies have complied. The introduction of mandatory monitoring of the EPG is an important measure needed to identify the disparities within the workforce and force employers to be accountable. As one speaker told delegates: “Black workers and especially Black women continue to pay the price of being Black. Employers have to be called to account.” Said another: “The ethnicity pay gap is a major cause of poverty. And it’s widening. Closing the gap would be great for business and would potentially boost the UK economy by £2m a year. But there’s still resistance.” The motion calls on the national executive council to: make closing the EPG a priority in the union’s bargaining, organising and campaigning agendas; produce a UNISON toolkit to implement mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, and encourage branches to use it; request that Labour Link use its inf...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article 2023 National Delegate Conference 2023 year of Black Workers Source Type: news