Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael Mc Dowell TD, today launched Anti Racist Workplace Week. The week runs from November 7th to November 13th. The week seeks to stimulate and support workplace initiatives to combat any potential for racism and to promote full equality in practice for Black and minority ethnic (including Traveller) employees.
Speaking at the launch Niall Crowley, Chief Executive Officer of the Equality Authority, emphasised that “managing cultural diversity in the workplace requires change. ‘Business as Usual’ does not meet the challenge posed by the broad cultural diversity now present in the Irish workplace. Employment policies, procedures and practices need to be reviewed within each enterprise to ensure that they take account of cultural diversity and that they meet the needs of Black and minority ethnic (including Traveller) employees”.
This message was reinforced last year by the Labour Court in a case involving discriminatory dismissal on the race ground. The Labour Court highlighted that many non-national workers encounter special difficulties in employment arising from a lack of knowledge of their rights together with differences of language and culture. The finding of the Labour Court suggested, given these special difficulties, that applying the same procedural standards to a non- national worker that would be applied to an Irish national could, in some circumstances, amount to discrimination.
Anti Racist Workplace Week is organised by IBEC, Congress, the Construction Industry Federation, the Small Firms Association, the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform – through its National Action Plan Against Racism, Irish Farmers Association and the Equality Authority. This wide range of organisations has identified communication as the core theme for the week. They are encouraging enterprises to take initiatives during the week involving:-
- Communication between employers and Black and minority ethnic (including Traveller) employees to identify their workplace needs and how best to meet these.
- Communication between employers and trade unions or employee representatives to develop an action plan for the company, setting out steps to create an intercultural workplace.
- Communication among workplace colleagues about racism, cultural diversity and equality to create and sustain an organisational culture that is positive to cultural diversity.
Niall Crowley highlighted “the importance of the leadership role being played by business networks and trade unions on the issues of racism, cultural diversity and equality. This is a leadership that not only promotes good workplace practice but also places the workplace as the cornerstone around which our wider society can seek to eliminate racism and promote equality”.
Recent data highlights the scale of this challenge:-
- The race ground currently accounts for 40% of Equality Authority casefiles under the Employment Equality Acts. Allegations of discrimination include issues of unequal pay, excessive working hours, lack of access to statutory leave entitlements, discriminatory dismissal and harassment.
- The Central Statistics Office special survey on equality has highlighted that people from minority ethnic backgrounds reported the highest rate of discrimination with over 31% stating that they felt discriminated against in the past two years.
Anti Racist Workplace Week has been funded by the European Commission, the National Action Plan against Racism and the Equality Authority. Activities include a public awareness campaign promoting ‘communication at work against racism’. This is using billboards, national and local radio infomercials and workplace posters.
Ends
*********************************************************************
Statements by Social Partners in the Anti-Racist Workplace Week Campaign
“It is important that we have mechanisms in place to support the smooth integration of non-national workers into the workforce,” states Mr Turlough O’Sullivan, IBEC Director General. “It is vital that Ireland learns from the mistakes made in other countries. Migrant workers contribute hugely to Irish society and to the Irish economy and both employers and employees have a key role to play in ensuring that non-national workers are made feel welcome and are fully integrated into the workforce.”
David Begg, General Secretary of Congress, insists that “to build a racially-tolerant society, we must ensure that racism does not and can not take root in the workplace. To that end, we must strive to make the Irish workplace a model of tolerance, diversity and equality.Equal treatment for all workers – regardless of race, creed or colour -is a necessity. A ‘race to the bottom’ will only benefit those malevolent elements that thrive on prejudice and ignorance. Employers and unions have a responsibility to ensure this does not happen.”
“Our economy has grown substantially over the last number of years, and Irish people must be willing to share the spoils with those who have contributed so much to this economic development. As a nation, we must realise that migrant workers are an addition to our workforce and are not displacing Irish workers. They have a legitimate expectation of joining Irish society in all its guises. The small business sector actively supports diversity in Irish society and the elimination of racism in business and employment. It is important to recognise that diversity is part of the natural order – inclusiveness is the real challenge.” states Pat Delaney, Director, Small Firms Association
The Irish Construction Industry according to its Director General Liam Kelleher “has welcomed many workers from overseas in recent years to work in our vibrant economy. With the considerable number of immigrant workers now employed on construction sites, it is incumbent on the building industry to play a leading part in ensuring that racism is eliminated completely from the workplace. The CIF has sent leaflets and posters to all its member companies and asked that they be displayed and distributed on sites. The CIF has also asked member companies to raise issue of Anti-Racism in the Workplace Week in toolbox talks on sites and in discussion with groups. At a practical level to integrate overseas workers to the construction industry, the CIF has produced safety booklets with language versions in Russian, Polish, Romanian, Latvian and Lithuanian”.
Speaking about the launch of Anti-Racism Workplace Week 2005, Lucy Gaffney, Chair, National Action Plan against Racism said: “Employers in Ireland have a critical role to play in ensuring that our economy and society is well positioned to take advantage of the talent and skills that are available from new workers in Ireland. By being prepared, being open to change and planning for the short to medium term the increased levels of diversity in Ireland will bring significant economic benefits to everyone in Ireland. Anti-Racism Workplace Week provides an ideal opportunity to raise awareness about the issue of diversity in the workplace and for organisations who are already doing good work in this area to share best practice with others so that more can be done in the future. The Steering Group for the National Action Plan against Racism is proud to be a supporter of this important week in the annual calendar.”
According to John Dunne, Chief Executive, Chambers of Commerce of Ireland,”migrant workers play a vital role in the Irish economy and it is essential that we create and sustain an environment in which new Irish workers will want to remain. Tackling racism at work is an essential component of this. It is vital that all employers take account of diversity and work to develop an intercultural workplace that addresses racism and supports strategies for inclusion.”