- Conference
- 2023 National Black Members’ Conference
- Date
- 30 September 2022
- Decision
- Carried
The current cost-of-living crisis affects everyone especially given the huge rise in energy prices, but there is evidence that the impact will be disproportionately felt by those who are already struggling to make ends meet and particularly Black members who are over-represented in low wage jobs and often with limited career progression.
Research conducted with the New Economics Foundation, shows that Black members are more likely to be in low paid and insecure work. 18% of Black members are in low paid and insecure work such as having too fewer hours, zero hours contracts, or a short notice of shift patterns, compared to just 15% of overall staff.
In addition to this research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2017 and by the Resolution Foundation in 2018 shows that the ethnicity pay gap is of long standing, and that while some progress has been made to close these gaps many ethnic groups still experience lower pay than White British workers, with workers in Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups receiving the lowest median hourly pay.
Low pay isn’t just about struggling to ends meet, it means physical and mental stress and ill-health, affecting family life and the daily battle to put food on the table. It means a life without security and stability and difficulty planning for the future. These are the effects of poverty, and they disproportionately affect black members
Conference call upon the National Black Members Committee to:
1)Work with the National Executive Committee to identify ways in which branches can increase their support for Black low paid workers;
2)Research how the cost of living rise affects Black low paid workers in public services including undertaking a survey of members and branches
3)Consider producing specific bargaining guidance aimed at Black members;
4)Work with Branches to ensure there is specific material aimed at Black members to promote Welfare Services.