Occupational Therapy News July 2020 | Page 15

BAOT/UNISON
to influence change and continue to hold
employers and the government to account.
We need to use the tools and power
of collective bargaining to challenge
discrimination, inequality and force
employers to comply with their legal
obligations.
Q: How do we work to improve the lives
of Black people in the UK?
A: We need to turn the dial on racism in
our public and private institutions.
We need to challenge the low rate of
employment for Black people from specific
sectors of the labour market, education,
manufacturing and construction.
Unemployment remains high at almost
three times the national rate.
On pay, research from the TUC found
that the ethnicity pay gap is up to 25
per cent and research by the Resolution
Foundation reported that there was a £3.2
billion pay penalty facing Black workers,
with Black graduate men facing the
biggest pay penalty of 17 per cent.
In some sectors, young Black
men in particular are excluded from
apprenticeship opportunities. At
every stage of the labour market,
from recruitment, redeployment to
redundancies, Black workers are ‘last in,
first out’.
Black people are already overrepresented
in precarious, part-time,
temporary and zero hours contracts.
We need to improve employment
opportunities, challenge employment
discrimination, implement positive action
measures to redress employment and
economic exclusion.
This continuum promotes economic
inequality across generations of Black
British people – and it seems that
COVID-19 thrives on inequalities.
A recent Office for National Statistics
report, comparing the COVID-19 death
rates in England and Wales, finds that the
mortality rate in the most deprived areas
is twice as high as in the least deprived
areas.
We need to break the cycle of
discrimination, disadvantage and
deprivation.
Be a part of Unison’s ‘Race for Equality’ campaign
Our Race for Equality campaign
is equipping Unison branches to
get active and tackle racism in
the workplace.
Racism in the NHS – the
numbers*:
• 19 per cent of the workforce
are Black** but only seven per
cent of senior managers are
Black;
• White applicants are 1.45
times more likely to be
appointed from shortlisting
than Black applicants;
• Black staff are 1.24 times
more likely to enter formal
disciplinary process;
• 28 per cent of Black staff
experienced harassment,
bullying or abuse from other
staff in last 12 months,
compared with 23 per cent of white
staff; and
• Only 72 per cent of Black staff
believe their employer provides equal
opportunities for career progression/
promotion, compared to 87 per cent
of white staff.
Note: *Figures are for England-only,
collected from the NHS Workforce Race
Equality Standard (WRES) 2018; **The
WRES data uses Black and Minority
Ethnic (BME). Unison uses the more
political and inclusive term Black.
For more information visit: www.
unison.org.uk/at-work/health-care/bigissues/race-for-equality/
to see what
you can do.
If you have a problem at work,
BAOT/Unison is there to help
Anyone can face problems at work, but if you’re a
member of BAOT, you don’t have to face them alone.
Whether it’s about bullying, duty rotas, flexible
working, annual leave or sickness procedures,
a BAOT or UNISON rep is on hand to help,
wherever you work. We are also there
to support in you case of disciplinary
action, dismissal or redundancy.
For help and advice at work
– or to find out more about
UNISON services – please
contact your local BAOT/
UNISON rep or go to www.
unison.org.uk/get-help/.
© GettyImages/biscotto87
OTnews July 2020 15