Ministers told: Stand up for our rights

Louise Nousratpour in Scarborough
Sunday April 26, 2009
The Morning Star

DELEGATES at the TUC black workers' conference have urged the government to stand firm against big business in defence of racial equality.

In the run-up to Monday's publication of the Single Equality Bill, they stressed the importance of strong equality laws in tackling institutional racism.

Ten years on from the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, there has been "little or no progress" on the government's agenda to tackle institutional racism, the conference in Scarborough heard on Saturday.

Speakers vowed to resist any attempt by the government to water down the Bill under pressure from big business trying to use the recession as an excuse to undermine much-needed equality measures.

Prospect delegate Satnam Ner said: "Let us not miss this opportunity and make sure we have a law that stands behind us."

Unions cautiously welcomed the news that, by 2013, private firms could be forced by law to carry out pay audits in a bid to tackle inequality. But business organisations bitterly opposed the measures.

The trade union movement has long called for the public-sector equality duty to be extended to the private sector, which makes up two-thirds of the labour market.

"We cannot allow our brothers and sisters working in the private sector suffer inequality," said Unite delegate Nazir Dar.

She called for measures to ensure that public-sector outsourcing requires equality to be part of the tendering process.

"The Bill must cover all sectors - public, private and voluntary," Ms Dar demanded.

Mr Ner deemed it "unacceptable" that there are no statutory rights for equality representatives, who he stressed play a vital role in ensuring that the law is enforced in the workplace.