Reframing race in the labour market

Introduction The TUC is believes that narrative on race equality makes it difficult to address the current problems of discrimination Labour market indicators for Black and Minority Ethnic workers show that they face systemic discrimination in the labour market Despite various policy initiatives by governments over the years this remains the case. We believe that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) research project outcomes on ethnicity and poverty make a valuable contribution to the evidence of structural discrimination in the labour market.

Using Stories Stories are a powerful way to persuade people. They are understandable because they have aa beginning, middle and an end We can empathise with the characters and become more interested in issues that do not affect us personally. we literally suspend disbelief.

Political Narrative Stories or narrative are often used in politics to convey ideas and frame the debate. They are Consistent; Memorable; Full of vivid images and emotional metaphors; Simple enough to be readily understood and retold framing, the sound bite ‘tax relief,’ combines two frames, ‘tax’ and ‘relief,’ to create a new frame. The new frame is also a metaphor, since it describes one thing, ‘tax,’ in terms of another, ‘relief, ‘ and suggests a little story– that is, taxes are an unfair pain from which you deserve relief!

The framing of the race story Traditionally the story of race discrimination in the UK has also always been framed in terms of mass migration, racial tolerance and multiculturalism Because of EU Fee movement and the conflict in the Middle East contemporary governments have sought to reframe race in terms of national security, citizenship and shared values The Runnymede Trust in their report on the future of multi ethic Britain identified this as problematic as ‘a sense of national identity is based on generalisations and involves a selective and simplified account of complex history. Much that is important is ignored, disavowed or simply forgotten’.

The Windrush WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE The arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948 is was Britain's first experience of Black communities and problems of racism. mass migration from the 1950’s onwards is characterised as changing Britain into a multicultural society THE REALITY IS: Black people have been in Britain since roman times. Asian people first settle in Britain during the early 1600

Back in the day, there was racism WE ARE LED T0 BELIEVE: That racism began in then 1950s with the No Blacks, Dogs or Irish signs THE REALITY IS: Racism was a problem long before this. For example in 1919 serious rioting occurred with black people attacked in the street and in their houses in Liverpool, Cardiff, Newport and London. This frame whilst acknowledging that people from Black communities experienced racism often locates this racism as a result the growth in size of multicultural communities. Racism in British society at this point is often related to Enoch Powell's Rivers of blood speech and the attacks by the British union of fascists on Black communities in their street and homes during the 1958 riots in Notting Hill and Nottingham. This frame firmly locates racism as a working class and as a result of ignorance.

Enoch said “In this country in fifteen or twenty years’ time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man.” We musty be literally mad as a nation to be permitting the annual inflow of 50,000 dependants whop are material of the future growth of the immigrant-descended population. It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre

Roy said Integration is ‘not a flattening process of assimilation but equal opportunity accompanied by cultural diversity in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance’.

Tolerance WE ARE TOLD Britain is a tolerant country and race discrimination was dealt with through anti-discrimination legislation, the Scarman and McPherson reports THE TRUTH IS People are still not getting job, decent housing, good health care decent education and attacked in the streets because of the colour of their skin The tolerance frame reinforces the idea that British Black communities are outsiders who are not part of Britain's historical heritage but nevertheless tolerated by British society. This frame places the progress made in tackling racism in the hands of the state and discounts institutional and state racism through state multicultural policies and the introduction of race relations legislation. The frame ignores the agency of black communities and discounts the role of that British Black communities have had in influencing legal institutional and cultural changes.

Sleepwalking into Segregation WE ARE TOLD That Britain is under threat from ethnic diversity as some communities are living separate lives and refusing to integrate THE TRUTH IS: That Black communities are the most ethnically diverse in Britain's. Its white upper class Brits who live separate lives

Contemporary racism and fascism WE ARE TOLD That people that hold racist views are ignorant, from far right parties and are working class. THE REALITY IS: The Prime Minister has appointed a Foreign Secretary known for his racist comment. This frame reinforces the tolerance frame, introduces the idea that we live in a post racial society and that only people that are involved in far right fringe organisations hold negative views about race. This frame reinforces the idea that racism is limited to far right organisations and that it is the preserve of the working class either through ignorance or because they feel abandoned by society. The frame precludes state or institutional racism and excludes the idea that middleclass or educated people might be intentional racist.

"Communities are bound together partly by informal chance relations between strangers - people being able to acknowledge each other in the street or being able pass the time of day,“. "That's made more difficult if people are wearing a veil. That's just a fact of life. Guess Who Migrants will be barred from entering Britain after a Brexit unless they can speak good English and have the right skills for a job attempts to enter the UK had increased because “you have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs Jack Straw Boris Johnson David Cameron Nigel Farage "Any normal and fair-minded person would have a perfect right to be concerned if a group of Romanian people suddenly moved in next door."

New communities WE ARE TOLD Recent migration from the EU has made Britain much more diverse and the old problems of racism based on colour no longer apply. THE TRUTH IS: Racism against non EU migrants and This frame presents Britain as a post racial society where former concerns about racism based on colour discrimination are not relevant because of the increasingly diverse nature of the population as a result European enlargement and migration. The concepts of racism and discrimination are conflated and anti-racism becomes problematic, because it is perceived to be underpinned by multiculturalism which is seen to have failed. This frame introduced the idea that the inequality faced by Black communities is as a result of their unwillingness to integrate into wider British society and is underpinned by the idea that we live in a meritocracy and whilst there are barriers to individual advancement, if you work hard and play by the rules you will be a success

Stories End WE ARE TOLD The current challenges are how to get diverse communities to integrate into the British way of life, ensuring that future migration is managed, dealing with the legacy of multiculturalism which has encouraged radicalisation and self segregation in some communities and addressing the needs of the disaffected white working class. THE TRUTH IS: We are not new arrivals but are part of the The enemy within frame places race in the context of security and re-defines ethnic communities as religious communities. Integration supplants race as the major issue that needs to be consider by policy makers and politicians This frame racializes the white working class to act as a counterbalance to issues of structural inequalities experienced by Black communities as a result of institutional discrimination Race is relegated to an issue of dealing with barriers to individual advancement within the labour market and wider society. Integration becomes a condition for living in the UK.

Race and Work WE ARE TOLD Everybody knows people from Black communities suffer from high levels of unemployment and don’t progress in the workplace because they: Lack of educational attainment Lack of experience in senior positions Lack of role models to aspire to For cultural reason WHAT WE KNOW The JRF research showed that This frame presents Britain as a meritocracy, discount state and institutional discrimination within the labour market and wider society. It promoted the idea of the rational labour market where people will be successful of the have sufficient personal and social capital and blames individuals for their lack of success in the labour market It undermines any idea of labour market or societal regulation to deal iwth problems of discrimination and lays the responsiblity firmly at the door of the indiividuals who are experiencing discrimination to find thier own solutions. Failure is their fault and their responsibility

But also over-qualification (see also Runnymede briefing on Russell group graduates)

Much wage inequality driven by ‘occupational segregation’

Low pay and wage inequality

Alternative Narratives The TUC believes that the current narrative on race undermines evidence of institutional discrimination in the labour market and society. make it difficult for the anti racist campaign messages that we promote to be heard by other trade unionists and the wider public the only way that the assumptions that are made about race can be challenged is by developing a new story that that presents a different way of understanding the issues that we believe is closer to the truth.  Multiculturalism pre Empire Windrush Britain as a Port Nation Respect – Not tolerance Contribution of a wider citizenship through colonialism and empire in thee making of modern Britain Collective discrimination through race and class Racism hurts everyone.

Some suggestions for a new Story Britain as a Port Nation Respect – Not tolerance Contribution of a wider citizenship through colonialism and empire in the making of modern Britain Racism hurts everyone.

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