The age of the plural city: when we are all minorities

The number of plural cities - cities where no one ethnic group holds the demographic majority - is increasing around the world. This emerging issue for race relations is yet to receive due attention both domestically in the UK and on the global stage, accordinf to the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the CRE, said: "There are two possibilities in terms of how we approach the fact of plural cities: we can be energised, and draw on the creativity of our diversity; or we can be fractured and hence find ourselves in cities which are depressed and divided."

"The good version of the future is not going to happen by accident. They are going to happen by our design, by the agency of public policy, by what people do in civic society."

If we get it right, the successful cities will be beacons for a different kind of world."

Opportunities available to plural cities include the potential for increased economic prosperity, entrepreneurship, international trade, and tourism.

With migration to cities expected to increase worldwide, plural cities are quickly becoming one of the most important consequences of globalisation, and raise a number of, as of yet, unanswered questions:

• How will this affect political representation and leadership?
• How can local governments truly reflect the diversity of the communities they represent?
• What are the implications for urban planning?
• Does regeneration offer opportunities for positive change?
• How can bridges be built between ever more diverse communities?

Read the supplement, Living Together, from the New Statesman, which sums up the first international expert discussion on plural cities, convened by the CRE and the Smith Institute in March.

Ericsson risks age discrimination claims after offering redundancy package to older workers in Sweden

Telecoms firm Ericsson is risking a host of age discrimination claims after it offered a voluntary redundancy package to about 1,000 of its employees in Sweden aged between 35 and 50.

The company said that the purpose of the programme was to correct an imbalanced age structure. The group said that it wanted to employ more young people to "not to miss a generation in 10 years' time".

But employment lawyers believe that the move could leave the company open to potential compensation claims from people claiming the practice is biased against older workers. EU-wide age discrimination legislation becomes law in October, but a ruling earlier this year has led some experts to warn it is already in effect because of legal precedent.

Michael Ball, employment partner at law firm Halliwells, said: "If there is an imbalance in the make up of the overall staff age structure and an employer waits until after the introduction of age discrimination laws it leaves itself open to claims for compensation. The employer may attempt to justify its actions, but this is likely to be highly contentious given the purpose of the legislation.

"In practice when age discrimination comes into force it is likely to be a difficult job to persuade an employment tribunal that there was a real danger of the current age imbalance having an adverse impact on the business in the future," he added.

Ericsson is planning to recruit 900 new employees up to the age of 30 in the next three years. The average age of Ericsson's employees in Sweden is currently 41, compared with 39 for the company's staff worldwide.

Ericsson's age structure had become biased towards the 35-50 age group after a dramatic restructuring programme between 2000 and 2002.

Employees aged between 35 and 50 with a minimum of six years' service will be eligible for a voluntary redundancy package comprising 12 to 18 months' salary, a £3,700 payout and the chance to participate in a career-change programme.

Aberdeen council to spend £15m in equal pay settlements

Aberdeen City Council is set to pay out about £15m in equal pay settlements to 2,500 workers.
The offer, which will be sent out in a letter to the workers this week, covers five years' back pay and aims to compensate the cleaners, caterers and carers by bringing their jobs into line with their male colleagues.

The proposal follows a walk-out last month where more than half Aberdeen's schools were closed and 10,000 pupils had the day off.

The 2,500 workers will be offered up to £15,000 each but some women said they were entitled to £25,000. The council will also spend a further £250,000 providing workers with free legal advice.

Scotland's 32 councils agreed in 1999 that male and female workers should get the same wages for similar jobs.

Tommy Campbell, regional officer with the Transport and General Workers' Union, said he had arranged a meeting with the workers next Friday to discuss the offers.

Transgender question takes diversity drive to new level

Suppliers working on contracts to regenerate London have been asked to provide extensive details about their workforces, right down to the number of transgender staff they employ.

The London Development Agency (LDA)– the mayor of London’s agency for business and jobs – has written to its existing suppliers, including small- and medium-sized businesses, asking them to fill in a questionnaire designed to "assist in developing... enterprises".

Questions include the percentage of staff and company owners who are from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BME) groups and the percentage of disabled employees, as well as the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff.

The survey also asks when existing contracts will come to an end and how much they are worth.
An LDA spokeswoman said this was only an "information gathering project", and would not yet affect companies’ chances of getting contracts in the future.

She said: "The questionnaire is just one of the many steps the LDA is taking to understand the nature and diversity of its supplier base, and to ensure both smaller and more diverse suppliers have the chance to become part of the supplier base."

A spokesman from the London Chamber of Commerce said that having to fill in too many forms was exactly the reason many small businesses did not get involved in bidding for public sector contracts.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has said that he believes "London’s diversity is its greatest strength". In March, when he announced the first firms to sign up to a £10m programme to improve workplace diversity, he said: "I want to ensure London businesses really harness and make the most of the opportunities that diversity in the workplace can deliver."

Last year, the LDA re-cruited a business diversity manager who needed to demonstrate "a track record of demonstrable success in BME, women and disabled business development".

The LDA move is part of a wider government drive to increase gender and ethnic diversity among its suppliers.

Stonewall revises employee guide to sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace

Gay charity Stonewall has launched a revised guide to the 2003 employment regulations concerning sexual orientation in the workplace.

Discrimination at work - it's so over is a guide designed for employees and is the result of a joint initiative between Stonewall and the TUC.

The guide, available in English and Welsh, offers employees basic information about the regulations protecting them at work, what their rights are and advice on what to do if they experience problems.

"It's vital that everyone has this information" said Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill. "We want to help all employees who risk being discriminated against at work - from those denied the benefits available to their straight colleagues to those harassed and bullied simply for being gay.

"Our experience working with employers across the country is that taking fair treatment of all staff seriously can make a key contribution to recruiting and retaining the very best human capital. We're delighted to have worked with the TUC on this initiative."

Frances O'Grady, deputy general secretary of the TUC, said: "We're happy to have this opportunity to work with Stonewall on this crucial area of employment law. We're committed to ensuring this gets the widest possible distribution and reaches all lesbian and gay staff who might benefit from it."

The 140,000 copies of the leaflets will be sent out across the UK, distributed through unions, libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux, and gay community venues.

Wal-Mart makes its diversity case

Wal-Mart has opened its books to show exactly how many women and minorities in the U.S. work for the world's largest employer.

It's the first time it has released the data it files each year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Wal-Mart's move comes amid calls from religious investors and workers rights groups for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company to prove it is meeting verbal commitments to increase diversity and prevent discrimination.

Wal-Mart also faces a class-action discrimination lawsuit on behalf of all current and former U.S. female employees.

The report for 2005 showed 32% of the 1.34 million Wal-Mart employees in the U.S. were minorities.
That level varied by occupational group, including 21% of top officers and managers, 20% of professionals and 33% of sales workers.

Women accounted for 60% of the overall work force, 39% of officers and managers and 75% of sales workers.

The report did not provide comparative data for previous years.

The publication of the 2005 employment data comes a year after Wal-Mart first provided a summary of some of those numbers, but not the full report, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said.

"This year is another step toward being a more transparent corporation in all aspects of our business, including diversity," spokeswoman Sarah Clark said.

CEO Lee Scott said in an executive summary Wal-Mart last year expanded diversity targets for managers from a group of 3,500 officers and senior managers to include more than 51,000 store-level managers. Scott said the goals were all met, but did not elaborate.

The logistics sector - white, middle-aged and male?

Skills for Logistics, the Sector Skills Council for the freight logistics industries, has been awarded funding of up to £100,000 from the Department for Transport to investigate workforce diversity and the current state of training provision for the logistics industry.

The research will:

• Identify current provision of industry training across both the private and public sectors
• Profile the different categories of logistics drivers and define the labour market working within those categories
• Identify workforce diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender and age
• Look at barriers to recruitment and retention of a more diverse workforce and identify ways to make industry more appealing to potential workforce

Based on the results of the research Skills for Logistics will prepare a series of recommendations to assist industry employers with their recruitment and retention strategies.

"According to the Office of National Statistics Labour Market Intelligence only 0.4% of LGV drivers (driving trucks above 7.5 tonnes) are female, 1.6% are from ethnic minority groups and 3.1% are under 25 - the industry does not reflect the true demographics of the UK and more needs to be done to encourage these groups to consider a career in logistics.

Understanding the barriers to recruitment and retention of a more diverse workforce is vital for the future of the industry," commented Stephen Wells, Head of Research at Skills for Logistics. "With the support of the DFT we are able to identify what these issues are and help employers create recruitment strategies that will help with their businesses."

More information

Black, minority youth volunteer time in new UK drive

A leading national advice charity today hailed a major new recruitment drive a success after attracting hundreds of young volunteers from black and minority ethnic communities.A new report published by Citizens Advice has revealed almost half of the young volunteers recruited as part of a government initiative are from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds.

The “Generation V” report showcases the range and value of the work being done in Citizens Advice Bureaux by volunteers aged between 16 and 24-years-old and tells in their own words what they get out of it.

It also highlights the importance of attracting volunteers from a range of diverse backgrounds in order for the Citizens Advice Service to meet the needs of diverse communities.

Citizens Advice runs the Millennium Volunteers (MV) award, a flagship government initiative to support and recruit young people into volunteering opportunities.

Last year 43% of their young volunteers were from a BME background. Since the project started in 1999 more than 800 young people have completed MV plans with the Citizens Advice service and gained certificates for volunteering.

Volunteers between the ages of 16 and 24 can choose from a wide variety of different roles. Many train as advisers, but other options include developing IT and organisational skills as an administrator, learning how to deal with the media, becoming fundraisers or developing research skills as a social policy campaigner.

The extensive training allows volunteers to develop vital skills with a third leaving the service to go onto paid employment. The Open College Network accredits CAB adviser training and all advisers receive the widely respected Citizens Advice Advisor qualification.
More information

The challenges faced by ethnic minority women

The Equal Opportunities Commission has published early findings from its ongoing investigation into ethnic minority women at work.

The research reveals:

• Pakistani women face a pay gap at least 10 percentage points higher than that of white women, whilst the pay gap for Bangladeshi women is at least 5 percentage points higher.
• A quarter of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women work in wholesale and retail, where the median pay for sales assistants, for example, is £5.15 per hour, £4.61 less per hour than average earnings for women working full time.
• Working Black Caribbean women are 8 percentage points more likely to have a degree than white women. Yet only 9% of Black Caribbean women are managers/senior managers, compared to 11% of white women.
• Job segregation is more of an issue too: almost a third of all Black Caribbean women work in health and social work, compared to less than a fifth of white women.

Jenny Watson, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said: "The Women and Work Commission has reminded us again of the continuing pay gap that women face. But it is particularly disturbing that this gap is larger for Pakistani and Bangladeshi women than for white women and that they, and Black Caribbean women, also face higher levels of job segregation and fewer opportunities to progress to more senior positions."

More information from the EOC

Investors in Diversity scheme launched

A new business standard devised in Yorkshire to encourage employers to value and make the most of diversity in the workplace was launched in Parliament recently by top business and political leaders.

The Investors in Diversity scheme encourages private and public sector chiefs to better harness and understand their employee differences – be they racial, cultural, religious or family backgrounds - to help them fulfil their potential in their respective workplaces.

Created by the Leeds-based National Centre for Diversity, the new standard was given a warm send-off by Cabinet Minister Hilary Benn, as well as the British Chambers of Commerce president Bill Midgely and IBM UK and Ireland general manager Larry Hirst.

Mr Benn, the International Development Secretary and MP for Leeds Central, called the matter of diversity "the single biggest issue we face in Leeds" and warned not all citizens were participating in the city's prosperity "in a fair and equal basis".

"We have got to see diversity as a strength not as a weakness," he said."I think it is a great thing that this initiative is being lead from Leeds which is a city that represents vitality and diversity, which is what this is all about. This is not the first good thing to come out of Leeds and it certainly won't be the last."

Although unrelated to the Investors in People scheme, set up in 1990 to encourage organisations and businesses to improve performance, it will operate in the same voluntary way.

Key business figures also gave their backing to the scheme, Mr Hirst stressing that being attentive to diversity made commercial sense.He said: "The case for diversity is not only a moral imperative, it's a business imperative...these things aren't about us talking about it but ultimately about this flowing down to the bottom line."

A founder member and director of the National Centre for Diversity, Solat Chaudhry, said the scheme would help employees by ensuring workplace cultures and environments were more attentive to their needs.

Meanwhile, managers and the overall business would benefit from happier and, as a result, more attentive and dedicated workers.He added: "What we've done is started a new debate about diversity in the contest of inclusion rather than box ticking.

"It's about proactivity rather than reacting to legislation. And I feel privileged by the response so far."

One in three unaware that HIV discrimination is illegal

One in three people do not realise that discriminating against colleagues with HIV is illegal, a survey by the National AIDS Trust and pollsters Mori revealed.

Only 65% of the 2,048 adults questioned were aware that it was against the law to discriminate against someone with HIV at work, contravening the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

About 40% also said they would feel uncomfortable working with someone with the disease.
But attitudes towards people with HIV have improved over the past few years, the survey suggests.
About 57% of respondents polled in 2000 said that people who had been infected with HIV only had themselves to blame, compared with 44% in 2005.

Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National AIDS Trust said: "The Disability Discrimination Act requires all employers not to discriminate against people living with HIV. This survey shows that the majority of people have supportive attitudes to HIV positive colleagues in the workplace. "But it also reveals continuing high levels of ignorance which must be addressed through workplace HIV policies and training."

A small number (7%) also said that people with HIV did not deserve the same kind of support as people with cancer.

More information from the National AIDS Trust

Senior staff member resigns after alleging that disabled people are sidelined at Eden Project

A senior member of staff at the Eden Project has resigned after saying that "disabled workers were placed behind the scenes" at the tourist attraction.

Sue Minter, the Cornish environmental project's director of horticulture, allegedly made the remarks to Horticulture Week magazine after giving a presentation in London last month.

"We have a responsibility for professional horticulture's image. It's been traditional for low-ability people to go into agriculture and horticulture," Minter said.

"It is a very difficult and controversial area. We need to have some way to deal with it."

The Eden Project denied the claims and said the project was about "acknowledging diversity and using people's strengths".

An Eden Project spokesman said Minter made the comments on the 20 March and told bosses of her intention to step down on 29 March.

"She regrets that she suggests the Eden Project placed disabled people behind the scenes when it is certainly not the case. The Eden Project works positively and proactively with disabled people," a spokesman said.

Link to the Eden Project website

Employers failing to back up promises on diversity

There is a clear mismatch between UK employers' claims that they want to promote best practice on gender diversity issues and their commitment to enacting these principles, research has found.

The latest gender equality and diversity benchmarking report, from campaigning group Opportunity Now, shows employers across the board receiving lower scores on the impact of their diversity training than were recorded in the last survey.

The 2005/06 report shows that, on average, employers are effective in implementing diversity schemes 72% of the time - a drop of 4% since the last report in 2004. The decline in scores is more pronounced for private sector employers than for their public sector counterparts.

Private sector organisations scored 67%, while the public sector scored a 78% success rate with its range of diversity initiatives.

The biggest mismatch between employers' good intentions and their actual impact was found in equal pay. Eighty-three per cent have initiated work to close the pay gap, but only 8% have been judged effective on ensuring pay equality.

Opportunity Now director Norma Jarboe said that unequal pay was "a tipping point of discrimination".

Many organisations do not follow through on their professed commitment to equal pay issues by undertaking full pay audits, as "they are almost happy not to know what they don't know", she said.

"The key message is that there is no room for complacency," Jarboe added. "Many employers think gender has been addressed but, in many cases, gender issues have not actually been fully resolved."

Councils set to pay out billions in equal pay claims

Local authorities face paying billions in compensation to women workers in equal pay cases, a report suggests.

Councils in north-east England have already paid about £100m, while payouts in Scotland could reach £560m, reported research group Income Data Services (IDS).

It also said that other councils had "larger workforces and therefore larger equal pay liabilities". IDS said payouts had been made to women who were denied access to bonuses that could add up to 80% to basic pay.

Sally Brett of IDS, said: "Women working as school caterers or home helps are doing jobs of equal value to men, working in refuse collection, gardening or maintenance, and have been on the same pay grade as them for many years, but they have been denied access to the regular bonus payments that the men have received."

IDS said local authorities were struggling to implement new equality-proofed pay and grading structures without additional government funding similar to that given to other parts of the public sector, such as the NHS.

"Councils across Britain, many with larger workforces and therefore larger equal pay liabilities than the Scottish and north-east councils, have the same legacy issues to deal with," said Brett.

More information

Commission for Racial Equality appoints three new Commissioners

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has welcomed the appointment of three new Commissioners to lead its work over the next three years.

Carol Adams, currently chief executive of the General Teaching Council for England; Sir Colin Budd, who is a retired member of HM Diplomatic Service; and Dilwar Hussain, who is head of the policy research unit at the Islamic Foundation, Leicester.

Existing commissioners Khurshid Ahmed and Gloria Mills have been appointed for a further three years.
The posts run from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2009 when the work of the CRE will be taken forward by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR).

The appointments were announced yesterday by the home secretary Charles Clark.

Trevor Phillips, CRE chair, said: "We are at a critical time when our work on community relations has never been more important. The experience that Carol Adams, Sir Colin Budd and Dilwar Hussain will bring to the Commission will be greatly valued and shows that we are serious about engaging with as wide a possible spectrum of communities and stakeholders.

"We also have four excellent commissioners who will return with a wealth of experience to the CRE. I look forward to taking forward our integration agenda with all of them."

Council loses landmark sex discrimination case

Cumbria County Council is facing the prospect of a huge pay-out to nearly 3,000 female employees after a landmark sex discrimination tribunal ruling last week.

The tribunal found that the council was paying 2,960 women workers, including carers, cleaners and catering staff, less than their male colleagues.

It has been given 48 days to appeal against the judgement. Solicitors from the council are assessing the ruling to see if they have grounds to appeal.

The 10-week hearing took place in Carlisle between September and November last year, but the first claims were made in October 2002.

Lawyers have predicted that some workers could claim up to £60,000 if their pay is backdated. A council spokesman said the local authority was considering its response to the ruling.

"This is a complex judgement and it will take time to analyse the full implications," he said. "It is certainly premature to speculate on figures at this stage. We will provide a full and considered response at the end of the week."

Cumbria council offered an out-of-court settlement which was rejected by the GMB union and Unison, representing staff.

If the payout totals £50m this would use 12% of the council's £600m annual budget.
Last month, women working for an NHS trust in Cumbria were awarded millions of pounds in compensation after winning an historic equal pay battle last year.