General Council Statements - Anti-Racism

Over two decades ago, the TUC with our trade unions set up the Stephen Lawrence Task Group which oversaw our work to tackle institutional racism, because we knew that no organisations or institutions – including trade unions – were exempt from the possibility of institutional racism.

In the 20 years since the report of the TUC Stephen Lawrence Task Group, we have made important strides forward. We have published biennial equality audits, delivered training for union reps on tackling racism, and reformed our union rulebooks to put the fight against racism front and centre. These are important developments on which we can and should build. But it is clear that despite the progress made at that time, more must be done. We know that what matters most is what happens in our workplaces where we also need to see real and progressive change that ensures that Black workers are valued, respected and treated fairly and with dignity at work.

Our members rightly expect us to stand together with them, united in fighting for fairness and justice at work and in our communities. We owe it to our Black members to repay the trust they place in us every day and to do whatever it takes to win the fight against racism at work.

Workers’ rights at work are being threatened daily and union-busting tactics are becoming commonplace. Black workers, in particular, are facing mounting battles in fighting racism, securing safe and decent permanent jobs and in fighting the cost-of-living crisis and for racial justice.

Black workers’ lived experiences of racism in the workplace and in wider society need solidarity and support from the trade union and labour movement.

The experience of many Black workers during the pandemic, reflected decades of engrained inequalities in our labour market, and within society more broadly. BME workers, who were disproportionately impacted through the pandemic by deaths and Covid-related job losses, are now significantly more likely to be trapped in unemployment, poverty, insecurity and low pay than their white counterparts.

Our trade union fight for decent jobs, fair pay, healthy and safe workplaces, dignity at work, and for the rights of workers to be respected is central to our fight for racial justice. Economic and social justice for Black workers must be at the centre of all our work.

Congress applauds the pivotal work of the TUC Anti-Racism Task Force, the TUC Race Relations Committee, the TUC Black Workers Conference, and affiliates in the programme of work that has taken place over the last two years. Congress believes that this is a watershed moment, over two decades since the publication of the TUC Stephen Lawrence Task Group Report in 2001.

Congress commends the adoption of this landmark report of the Anti-Racism Task Force and urges all unions to take concrete actions to build our movement; strengthen, grow and diversify our membership to build workers’ power. Congress commits to ensure that the pendulum is swung in favour of workers in the world of work and wider society.

Congress urges every union to demonstrate their commitment to implementing concrete actions on anti-racism and to continue the work to deliver anti-racist workplaces.

Our Anti-Racism Action Plan and Manifesto

Congress calls on the TUC and affiliates to commit to the Anti-Racism Manifesto and the Action Plan to build an anti-racist trade union movement.

Congress commends the adoption of the landmark General Council Anti-Racism Task Force report and pledge to work jointly with the TUC and affiliates to take concrete actions on:

Building our movement

Strengthening, growing and diversifying our membership, winning for Black workers on race discrimination and centring racial equality in our collective bargaining agreements to build workers’ power and trust.

Fighting for our rights

Campaigning for secure and safe jobs, fighting for workers' rights. Banning zero-hours contracts, comprehensive monitoring covering ethnicity pay gaps, ending fire and rehire, and introducing fair pay agreements. Holding the government to account, demanding stronger legislation and enforcement to improve Black workers' labour market experiences.

Leading by example

Acting on the concerns of Black staff and changing our employment practices to ensure that our unions are truly inclusive workplaces.

Time to change

We ask trade union leaders, general secretaries and executive bodies to declare and sign up to our commitments to transform the cultures of our organisations and workplaces.

The next phase of our work begins with the following.

1. Publication of the Anti-Racism Action Plan to build an anti-racist trade union movement and its widest promotion dissemination across all unions.
2. Commitment by all affiliates to our Anti-Racism Manifesto declaration – our commitment to transform the cultures of our organisations and workplaces.
3. Establishing the mechanism to ensure implementation, measuring and monitoring the delivery of the Anti-Racism Task Force report actions, through the work of the Implementation and oversight group led by the general secretary and with a pivotal role for the TUC Race Relations Committee in reviewing progress.
4. Monitoring and reporting quarterly to the General Council and annually to Congress on the progress we have made in delivering our actions on collective bargaining, organising, public policy and unions as employers over the next five years.
5. In addition, we will build on the work of the Anti-Racism Task Force by:

- Using the framework of the Anti-Racism Task Force to build anti-racism action plans within unions and across sectors

- Mapping, monitoring year on year progress

- Publishing data and trends regarding the employment and representation of Black workers within the TUC and affiliated unions

- Actively engage with union executives and Black members in order to sustain our action on anti-racism.

We believe that these actions will be a basis for securing lasting change.

Congress endorses the report, action plan and manifesto, and further work to deliver race equality at work and in our unions.

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the structural racism and deep racial inequality within society and the economy. Black workers and communities have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic – with Black workers more likely to be key workers, more likely to contract the virus and more likely to die, or to lose their jobs and livelihoods. For too many Black workers, low pay, insecure employment and discrimination at work are the norm.

The pandemic has highlighted the endemic low pay and occupational segregation faced by many Black workers. And a discriminatory labour market has left many Black workers at disproportionately greater risk of exposure to Covid-19 and dying on the job (see Dying on the Job: racism and risk at work).

The labour market was unequal long before Covid-19, but the pandemic has led to widening economic inequality, precarious employment and rates of unemployment amongst Black workers rising twice as fast as for white workers.

Securing the recovery from the pandemic means that we can’t allow these inequalities to stand unchallenged. Our trade unions are determined to take the concerted action needed to eradicate the racism, discrimination and disadvantage that continue to deny many Black workers the opportunity to secure and progress in decent jobs.

The TUC Anti-Racism Task Force

The TUC’s Anti-Racism Task Force (ARTF) is addressing these issues head on, not only identifying the issues facing Black workers but also taking decisive action, with TUC affiliates, to address them. It is our aim to use our trade union leverage to press for change across UK workplaces and to lead by example by demonstrating our capacity as a movement to demonstrate the means to secure racial justice at work.

Through the ARTF, our trade unions are working to confront institutional racism and discrimination at work. The Task Force has set about shining a light on racial injustice in the world of work and focused on organising, bargaining and campaigning to secure real change.

The ARTF is building on analysis of labour market developments and feedback from Black workers and trade union members, to strengthen the capacity of our trade union affiliates in our ongoing work to fight racism at work.

We will be working to turn research and evidence into action and real change.

Building on the commitments set out in the TUC Equality Campaign Plan, our trade unions will be campaigning to lead and win change for Black workers in our movement, in the workplace and across the wider economy through a renewed focus on trade union organising, stronger collective bargaining, campaigning and lobbying.

Casualisation, privatisation and the emergence of a multi-tier workforce has hit Black workers particularly hard. Whether it is insecure contracts, unsocial shift systems, outsourcing or subcontracting, discrimination and segregation along race lines is all too often evident. Overcoming these inequalities through union organising, bargaining and campaign strategies must be a priority to ensure that every worker is treated with dignity and gets the New Deal we all deserve.

The pandemic and a hostile government agenda has deepened racial inequality and strengthened structural racism. The ARTF as leaders of the trade union movement will step up, alongside the wider anti-racist movement, and deliver tangible actions that will make a positive difference for Black workers.

• Unions as employers – we are inviting all of our unions to not only talk the talk but also to demonstrate our capacity to lead by example, putting racial justice front and centre of our work as trade union employers.  The ARTF will be supporting unions to drive the change to build inclusive and safe working environments for trade union employees.

The UK trade union movement stands with our sisters and brothers in the USA as they speak out against the catalogue of racist murders of Black men and women including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by police and Ahmaud Arbery by vigilantes.   

The Black Lives Matters protests have renewed a worldwide call for justice for Black people. They have highlighted the need for decolonisation of education and the public space, challenging the symbols, policies and practices which allow systemic racism to thrive. 

The protests in the UK have highlighted home-grown racism. The increasing numbers of Black people being murdered in state custody, racist violence, profiling and lack of accountability and the impacts of the hostile environment on Black people have all rightly been at the centre of the UK protests.   

Institutional racism is a matter of life or death for Black workers 

The coronavirus has also focused public and political attention on structural racism. Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed that Black and Asian ethnic groups are up to twice as likely to die from Covid-19, with these trends driven by Black people’s poorer housing, health, job opportunities and access to education. The pandemic has exposed systematic and institutional racism and inequality across society including across the criminal justice system and above all in our workplaces, where racial harassment and pay gaps continue and increasing numbers of Black workers struggle to make a living in precarious jobs. It has also shone a bright spotlight on the increasing number of migrant workers who have died from the virus as essential workers. We have a moral duty to their families to fight for them to be treated with dignity and respect (especially those who may not have recourse to public funds) and to campaign for an end to the hostile environment. 

The stark statistics in official reports of those who catch Covid-19 and the disproportionate death rates of Black workers and their families are shocking to read. But each death has a name and a story that deserves to be told. They are our members, friends, family and workplace comrades.  Whilst we mourn each death, we resolve to re-double our efforts to fight for the living – and to renew the fight against systematic institutional and structural racism. Black lives matter. Not just the right to live, but to live a life free from inhuman and inhumane human right abuse, racism, discrimination and poverty. 

The brutal realities of Covid-19 have exposed the way racism affects where you live and how you work. Increasingly our economy relies on an army of largely invisible essential workers, a high proportion of whom are Black workers and who have come to the fore to save lives and keep society functioning.   

The exposure of occupational segregation, fragmented employment, insecure contracts, poverty pay, lack of PPE and lack of sick pay is therefore no surprise. Added to this is many Black workers’ fear that raising concerns with managers will only make their situation worse. This is particularly an issue for migrant workers fearful of losing their jobs as their employment status was a condition attached to the visa/work permit whose loss will automatically activate their administrative removal by the Home Office from UK to their country of origin.   

Government must act now to dismantle institutional racism 

We have witnessed countless inquiries with many recommendations, that if implemented would have improved Black people’s lives. Black communities have lost faith in the UK government taking this issue seriously or taking action to protect Black lives. The announcement by the government of two inquiries led by people who have publicly rejected of the existence of institutional racism and systemic inequality has done nothing to restore the confidence of Black communities that the government is committed to transformative change. 

Continued warm words are not enough and action is needed today. Employers, governments, public bodies and regulators must be held to account for failures in their duty of care and legal responsibilities.  

We call on the UK government to: 

Trade unions will continue in our work to fight racism 

Trade unions also have an immediate and crucial role to play through organising and bargaining on behalf of Black workers to force employers through all available collective means, including legal action, to ensure that Black workers are listened to and respected and protected in the workplace. Risks must be properly identified, and meaningful measures to address them must be put in place.  

We will continue work to build support and solidarity with the wider Black Lives Matter movement, nationally and internationally, and create a positive legacy for the next generation. We will engage robustly with government, holding it to account and making the case for progressive change. We recognise important LGBT+ anti-racist campaigning, and support the Black Trans Lives Matter campaign. We will continue to be proactive and vigilant to voice to the daily burden and worry Black workers face going out to work in public facing roles and returning to their families at the end of their shift fearing they are now carrying Covid-19. We are committed to fighting to prevent this risk, ensure their safety and fighting racism in the workplace.  

We also acknowledge that trade unions themselves must do more to tackle institutional racism within their own structures. We are proud that this Congress sees the launch of a new General Council task group on anti-racism. Building on the proud legacy of the TUC’s Stephen Lawrence task group, the new group will give voice to the everyday racism Black workers experience across society and will set out how institutional racism continues to manifest itself at work. It will set out an action plan for change, across UK workplaces and within unions themselves, making recommendations that will ensure union organising, representation, education and training and bargaining agendas deliver sustained race equality and tackle under-representation in leadership. The action plan will also address what more unions and the TUC must do to increase recruitment, retention and progression of Black staff and address ethnicity pay gaps within their own organisations. We commit to supporting the work of this group, and to acting on its proposals

• bring into force Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 – the Public Sector Socio-Economic Duty in England: this is already enacted in the Scotland and Wales 
• introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting alongside a requirement for employers to publish action plans covering recruitment, retention, promotion, pay and grading, access to training, performance management and discipline and grievance procedures relating to BME staff and applicants 
• ensure all workers, regardless of immigration status, can claim rights at work 
• establish a decent floor of rights for all workers and end to abuse of agency, zero- hours, minimum-hours and other type of precarious contracts 
• ensure all migrants are able to access social security support on the same terms as UK citizens by ending no recourse to public funds 
• ensure all migrants, including undocumented migrants, can access the NHS free of charge  
• establish an independent judge-led royal commission or public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic with a particular focus on Black deaths due to Covid-19 and the contributing factors 
• scrap the “hostile environment” Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016 and document checks on employment, housing, banking and drivers licensing.