Leslie Manasseh - Chair of the 2007 Black Worker's Conference
Leslie Manasseh
Opening remarks
Colleagues, friends, brothers and sisters, fellow delegates, visitors and guests, I welcome you on behalf of the TUC to this annual gathering of black workers from all over the United Kingdom. This is the 16th TUC Black Workers' Conference, an occasion which I believe is of major importance for black communities our occasion. The place where we have a chance to take a strategic look at the problems that we face in our working lives and discuss ways tackling racial discrimination in the workplace.
Conference is always a special occasion. It is a chance to catch up with old friends to discuss the latest issues. It is a chance to get to know new activists who are coming to conference for the first time and to make new friends. It's a chance to assess our successes and failures over the past year and recharge our batteries for the struggles ahead.
Before I say something about the challenges that we face in our fight for racial equality I want to take this opportunity to welcome those delegates and visitors who are attending this conference for the first time.
You are all very welcome. I hope you will play an active part in this conference and find it a positive and rewarding experience. We look forward to your contributions to this conference.
As black activists engaged in a struggle for racial equality and against discrimination and exploitation, we must use this time productively. This is an opportunity for us to share our thoughts, experiences, debate those issues that are important to us and set our priorities for the coming year.
This year is the tenth anniversary of the publication of Sir William Macpherson's report resulting from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
A report that recognised that institutional racism exists, and plays an important part in perpetuating the discrimination faced by black people in the workplace, in society and in the community.
A report which highlights the need for both public and private sector organisations to tackle institutional racism if the systemic barriers that exclude us from equal participation in society are to be dismantled.
Last year the TUC published a report, 'TEN YEARS ON', which looked at what had been happening to Black Workers in Employment from 1997 - 2007.
The report showed that whilst the employment gap between black and white workers had narrowed the unemployment rates in black communities was still double that of white workers and that although the employment rates for black workers had increased slightly in all industries, black people still predominantly work in public services, retail, hospitality and restaurants and banking, finance and insurance.
As part of my role with the TUC I have represented the TUC on the Governments Ethnic, Employment Taskforce and whilst politicians civil servants and employers have been happy to talk about increasing access to skills training and routes into employment there has been a real resistance to talking about concrete measures to tackling race discrimination in the workplace.
Conference, the fact is that if we are to tackle the systemic discrimination that faces black workers it has to be by tackling the policies and practices of employers. Otherwise as we have pointed out to Government, black workers face a revolving door, into employment and then out again because of the discrimination that they face.
The TUC has consistently argued that we need legislation that covers the private sector but these pleas have been ignored by the Government.
We have made more progress in getting Government to accept that there is merit in the idea that public procurement should be used as a lever to improve race equality practices in the private sector.
Even the National Employment Panel which represented parts of the business sector in its 60/76 report agree that if tackling racism is to be taken seriously then Government needs to be prepared to use procurement, set targets and as a last resort use legislation to force change.
Conference we have a responsibility to fight to keep the need to tackle institutional racism alive. Too many politicians and policy makers and political commentators are happy to avoid the hard realities of race discrimination in the workplace and instead promote employer diversity and awareness raising.
This is at a time when we have had Detective Sergeant Gurpal Virdi was awarded £70,400 in damages by a tribunal after being passed over for promotion because of racial discrimination, Assistant Commission Tarique Ghaffur found it necessary to take submit an Employment tribunal and more recently where during the course of a tribunal hearing accusations emerged of white and ethnic minority community support officers living separate lives and riding in separate vans.
Conference we know that institutional racism is not just a vague concept to be argued over but about the lived experience of black workers in the workplace.
The denial of promotion and access to training, the pay gap between black and white workers, the disproportionate levels of bullying and harassment, the difficulties of securing permanent employment. This is the reality of what black workers face.
We as black trade unionists have a responsibility to ensure that the trade union movement continues to keep the idea and reality of institutional racism centre stage and argue for the changes that are needed to improve the workplace so that black workers not only have equal access to all areas of work but can work in fair and decent workplaces.
Conference the theme for this year's conference is Time to Organise. This is especially apt at a time when the economy has gone into recession and there is a danger that, as in past recessions, black workers will disproportionately suffer from layoffs and redundancies.
The TUC's latest recession report which looks at how this recession is likely to impact on our prospects within the labour market shows that the sectors of the economy where black workers are over represented in employment, financial services, retails, hotels and catering are some those which taking the largest hit as a result of the recession.
Proposed cuts in public spending will also affect the employment levels of black workers as we are over-represented in public sector jobs.
But conference, the recession is not just about people losing jobs.
For black workers remaining in employment the danger is that the concrete ceiling to promotion becomes even more impenetrable,
For black communities the danger is that the poverty that already exists because of a long standing access to employment becomes even more entrenched.
That racism flourishes because black workers and communities are scapegoated for the country's economic and social failures and that fighting inequality is seen as a luxury that has to take a backseat.
Conference these scenarios are not inevitable, the experiences of black workers and the black community in past recessions do not have to be repeated but we have to be prepared to get out and organise.
Now is the time to urge our family friends and colleagues to join trade unions so that we have the numbers to put pressure on employers to change their ways.
Now is the time to urge colleagues not just to pay their subs but to participate fully in the union as it is only by putting ourselves forward and taking the responsibility of leadership that we can ensure that trade union concerns are our concerns.
Now is the time that we have to be clear, not just about what problems we face and what we don't like but what we practically want to change so that we have a clear objectives and can create a strategy for change.
Now is the time for us to organise ourselves and step forward to play and equal and leading part in our trade union movement.
Some may say this vision is over optimistic or not possible because of racism that we face in the workplace and in the trade union movement but change is possible.
This year we saw historic change, a change that most black workers would have not believed possible in their lifetime.
The election of a black man to the office of President of the United States of America.
Whilst Obama's, intelligence, oratory and charisma where important factors in his victory, he would not President if thousands of ordinary people had not been prepared to step forward as activists in his campaign.
They understood that they were in a position of leadership and could make a difference
They understood that they had power to make historical change.
Frederick Douglas said 'Those who profess to favour freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without ploughing up the ground'.
Now is the time for us to organise. We must not allow ourselves to be diverted from our cause by those who will try to divide us nor fall into the trap of dissipating our energies by fighting and blaming each other.
We all know that black people, from whatever part of the world, are not one homogenous people. We have many difference - language, culture, and history - what unites us is greater than what divides us
Our common enemy is racism and those who practice and perpetuate it.
We must stand united to defeat it
Again I welcome you all to the 16th Annual TUC Black Workers Conference in Scarborough.
Have a great conference.
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