- Conference
- 2023 National Black Members’ Conference
- Date
- 29 September 2022
- Decision
- Carried
Conference, it seems incomprehensible that currently, Black workers would be suffering the indignity of having their names changed in the workplace to make it easier to pronounce and are often westernised in the process.
Names represent deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections. Our name gives us a sense of who we are, the communities in which we belong, and our place in the world. Our names are an incredibly important part of our identity. We cannot afford to take a step back into the 1960’s where having our names changed was a common occurrence, expected and too easily tolerated.
Most workplaces have policies in place that promote equal treatment but what happens when they are not put into practice? Black workers should be able to work in places where they feel welcomed, and inclusivity is promoted.
We therefore call on the National Black Members Committee (NBMC) to work with the National Executive Council (NEC), regional Black Members Committees (RBMC), other Self Organised Groups (SOG’s) and the Young Members Forum to:
1)Create an awareness and provide guidance of the importance of a person’s name by developing a booklet that outlines why a person’s name is important in the fight for equality and respect;
2)Continue to promote the challenging racism in the workplace guidance that highlights the discriminatory and derogatory treatment that Black workers face in the workplace and how to vigorously address it;
3)Request from each RBMC rep on the NBMC to discuss the ‘call me by my name’ topic to ensure strong equality, diversity and dignity is maintained in the workplace for our Black workers;
4)Explore how other campaigns have been developed i.e., the Eastern Region ‘Anti-Racism Charter’, East Midlands Region ‘Having those uncomfortable conversations about racism’ and Northwest Region ‘End Racism @work’ tool kit, that will complement the work of Challenging Racism in the Workplace guidance policy in UNISON.