Firms' pay cost of discrimination

A total of 63 cases of alleged discrimination cost 56 Northern Ireland companies and organisations more than £6700,000 in settlements for the 12 months to March 1997, according to figures released by the Fair Employment Commission. The figures showed that 12 public sector organisations and 44 companies from the private sector paid out a total of 6747,000, an average of nearly £12,000 per claim. The largest number of claimants were Catholic men (34) with Protestant men (11), Catholic women (11) and seven Protestant women accounting for the remainder. According to the FEC, most of the claims related to selection processes, but there were also a significant number resulting from allegations of sectarian harassment.