There has been a ‘significant growth’ in racial discrimination cases despite increased awareness among employers of the need to nurture an intercultural workplace, the Equality Authority said today.
Equality Authority chief, Mr Niall Crowley, said today over 20 per cent of the authority’s case load under the Employment Equality Act involves complaints of discrimination by Black and minority ethnic people.
Speaking today at the launch of the report, Promoting an Intercultural Workplace, Mr Crowley said this was a significant growth and represented the second highest area of casework after gender discrimination.
The publication of the report marked the start of the Anti-Racist Workplace Week a joint initiative between the Authority, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC), and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).
Mr Crowley said the issues which need to be resolved to ensure intercultural workplaces included working arrangements available to migrant workers; the approach to migrant workers during recruitment processes; awareness among migrant workers of their rights when taking a job; and the support infrastructure developed for migrant workers in the workplace.
However the Authority acknowledged the wide range of companies involved in anti-racist initiatives.
"Companies have seen a value in developing approaches to anti-racism in the workplace that go beyond the avoidance of discrimination to proactively pursue equality. It is this additional dimension that will be so important if the workplace is to be truly intercultural," Mr Crowley said.
The Authority found many companies had enhanced their equal opportunities to include the grounds of race and membership of the Traveller community; checking recruitment and promotion procedures to protect against the discrimination; and expanding their training provision to include on racism and the prevention of racial discrimination or harassment.
Also speaking at today's launch the Chairman of the National Anti-Racism Awareness Programme's Know RacismCommittee, Mr Joe McDonagh, appealed to all employers to join in anti-racist efforts.
"Every employer and service provider is obliged to create an environment that is free of racial abuse, intimidation and harassment for both employees and customers," he said.