- Conference
- 2024 National Community Conference and Seminar
- Date
- 14 November 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) report Home Truths published in 2020 which indicated that 68% of Black charity workers had experienced or witnessed racism in the sector. This is despite Black workers making up only 9% of the charity sector workforce, lower than both the public and private sectors. This report concluded that civil society did not simply have a diversity problem, it had a racism problem.
Conference further notes that in pursuit of this report ACEVO in England and Cymru/Wales has taken a number of positive actions around encouraging of ethnicity pay gap reporting and the publication of data by large-scale grant funders. Alongside this it has launched the Home Truths 2 project which seeks to work with civil society stakeholders to move forward with meaningful positive action to challenge racism.
Conference is encouraged by these initiatives taken at the highest levels of our management to promote awareness and address the issues of racism and inequality.
UNISON is a union that has equality at its heart and is committed to breaking down the barriers that exist to Black Members’ participation in our structures. Within UNISON, 14% of activists in the Community Service Group identify as Black. It is vital that the union continues to engage and support our Black activists in Community, not least when a high percentage of Black workers in our sectors report experiencing racism and there continues to be a low level of ethnicity pay gap reporting across our employers.
Conference welcomes the initiatives that UNISON has taken during 2023 Year of The Black Worker including the creation of a leadership programmes for Black activists, targeted to those who haven’t been involved in the union previously and towards certain groups of Black members in UNISON, including those who work in Community employers.
Conference believes that the Community Service Group must continue to work towards ensuring the any legacy of the Year of the Black Worker results in increased participation, activism and engagement with our Community Black Members and acknowledges their diversity and intersectionality.
Conference therefore instructs the Community Service Group Executive to work with all appropriate stakeholders to:
1)Continue to actively promote the Year of the Black Worker Toolkit to Community members;
2)Work with regions and branches to publicise and promote UNISON’s various leadership, training and development programmes for Black workers and encourage members to get involved;
3)Work with regions and branches to actively promote anti-racism training within Community structures
4)Provide opportunities for Community Black members to network and organise
5)Ensure that Community bargaining guidance and resources are appropriately inclusive of the issues relevant to Black members.
6)Continue to negotiate ethnicity pay gap reporting with Community employers and support UNISON’s campaign for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting
