LABOUR’s plans for a race equality Act are a welcome step forward in tackling rising pay disparity, the TUC said today.
The party announced it would toughen up equal pay laws for black, Asian and minority ethnic and disabled workers so they are on a par with those for women.
BAME and disability pay gap reporting would become mandatory and the party would also enact new protections against dual discrimination — allowing, for example, a BAME woman to bring one discrimination claim for sexism and racism rather than one for each protected characteristic.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the proposals “would finally start to tackle the discrimination that holds BME workers back by introducing a new duty on employers to report their ethnicity pay gaps.”
And Mr Nowak said urgent action was needed after Tories had presided over a decade of “zero progress on the disability pay gap.”
“Without this long-overdue legislation, millions of disabled workers will be consigned to many more years of lower pay and in-work poverty,” he said.
TUC analysis recently found that BAME women are nearly three times as likely to be on zero-hours contracts as white men, and that the pay gap between non-disabled and disabled workers is now 14.6 per cent: higher than it was a decade ago.
NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach, who is head of the TUC’s anti-racism taskforce, welcomed the proposals but warned that eradicating racial discrimination and inequality “will require clear leadership and increased funding from government, alongside stringent regulation, inspection and enforcement.
“Legislation coupled with stronger regulation would help to secure a fair and level playing field for teachers and for all workers.”
Labour also said it would appoint a Windrush commissioner if it won the general election to monitor the scandal’s compensation scheme.
Labour NEC member and Momentum vice-chairman Mish Rahman said: “While limited in scope, these proposals are welcome. But Labour should start by getting its own house in order on racism.
“Since taking office, Keir Starmer has scrapped Labour’s democratic BAME structures, hounded out black and brown MPs and thrown the Palestinian and Kashmiri causes under the bus.
“If he’s serious about restoring Labour’s reputation among black and Muslim communities, Keir Starmer should restore the whip to Diane Abbott and Kate Osamor, start treating Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana with respect, and empower Labour’s members of colour instead of silencing them.”
