Occupational Therapy News July 2020 | Page 14

BAOT/UNISON
Being a BAOT member means you also belong to Unison and can access support and advice on workplace issues at any time.
Step up, stand up and speak out against racism
© GettyImages/VictoriaBar
The murder of George Floyd in the US
and the disproportionate impact of
COVID-19 on Black communities in the UK
have focused attention on the everyday
inequalities faced by Black people.
In Unison, equality is part of our DNA.
Challenging discrimination and winning
equality are fundamental to everything we
do. And as a partner with RCOT, Unison
can support RCOT with equality, diversity
and inclusion issues.
In this article we ask Unison’s head
of equality Gloria Mills to provide some
context on racism in the UK and explain
how the union is at the forefront of the fight
against it.
Q: Gloria, do you feel that systemic
racism has never meaningfully gone
away?
A: Systemic racism is present in our
institutions, both public and private. It has
never meaningfully gone away, but it has
taken different forms.
In the past, Black people experienced
overt racism by being called names,
seeing signs saying ‘No Blacks, No Irish,
No Dogs’. You do not see such blatant
signs anymore, but systemic racism now
takes place in our private institutions.
For example, in the banks when you go
to pay a bill, some banks ask you to prove
your identity. As the Windrush scandal
showed, it is not sufficient for Black people
just to be British – you’re asked to show
different forms of identity just to withdraw
your monthly salary.
It is the additional checks and hurdles
faced in accessing everyday services,
which for most white people will never be
a problem.
So while we have moved away from the
naked and overt racism that Black people
faced before, racism is now practised in
more covert ways – with sophistry and
subtlety, but it has the same negative
outcomes.
Q: What is Unison’s role in this?
A: Unison has an important and pivotal role.
The union has always been in the vanguard
– leading and shaping the agenda.
Leadership is critical in saying where
the union stands on issues, and Unison
members have always been at the
forefront of challenging the major social
issues of our time. The union has to
continue to be proactive and visible
in standing with all our members and
communities.
As a public service union, we are
in constant dialogue and engagement
with our members who live in those
communities and rely on those services.
Unison has to use the size of its
membership and the power of its access
14 OTnews July 2020