Racism: the evil that must be eradicated from our society
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Racism: the evil that must be eradicated from our society
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Geraldine McGahey, Chief Commissioner, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland said: “There can be no excuse for the blatant racism and criminal acts on our streets. Those involved are damaging their own communities. We must let the police and criminal justice agencies deal with those responsible robustly, quickly and effectively."
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"To eradicate racism, we need a concerted response across society, with clear direction, commitment and action. We will only succeed in tackling racism and achieve racial equality in Northern Ireland if we have high level commitment and leadership from government. We need a new Racial Equality Strategy with concrete, outcome focused actions that are adequately resourced. The new strategy must target the elimination of racial inequalities but must also tackle prejudicial attitudes, promote respect for difference and foster community cohesion. Furthermore, we must see the introduction of effective hate crime legislation, the implementation of an effective Refugee Integration Strategy, ethnic equality monitoring and race law reform. Racism must not be allowed to be a daily occurrence for our ethnic minority communities”, concluded Ms McGahey. Read more
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Job vacancy: Director, Advice and Compliance |
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We are currently recruiting for the post of Advice and Compliance Director (Grade 7 - Principal Officer). As a member of the Senior Management Team, the Director will lead the Advice and Compliance Directorate, delivering key strategic and statutory responsibilities for the Commission, working with public authorities, employers, and service providers to ensure they meet their statutory equality obligations.
Closing date for applications is Tuesday 27 August 2024, 12noon. Further information and an application form are available at: https://equalityni.getgotjobs.co.uk/
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£160 settlement in disability discrimination case
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A sales advisor has settled his disability discrimination case against his former employer, Telefonica Ltd, for £160,000. The case was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
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Eamon Bowen worked in an O2 store for a number of years, during which he was diagnosed with a degenerative disc disease which causes him chronic pain, exhaustion, sleep and mobility issues. Eamon said: “I enjoyed my job and wanted to work, but in the end I felt I had no option but to submit my resignation. Occupational Health made recommendations time and time again to help me to return to and remain in work, but these were not fully implemented. Without these supports and adjustments it became impossible for me to continue working.” Read more
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Sales rep settles disability discrimination case for £20k
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A sales representative has settled his disability discrimination case against Haldane Fisher Ltd for £20,000. The case, supported by the Equality Commission, was settled through mediation and without any admission of liability by the company.
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Mark Graham worked for Haldane Fisher Ltd for 28 years. In 2017, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Following a period of sick leave, Mark returned to work and was then diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease which affected his hearing. In May 2021, following Covid, the company indicated they wished all external sales representatives to be back out on the road. Due to ongoing restrictions in the Republic of Ireland and his vulnerable person status, Mark asked for a reasonable adjustment to his working pattern requesting to work three days per week meeting customers and two days working from home, but this was declined. By October 2022 he felt that he had no alternative but to resign due to the impact on his health of the amount of time he was on the road. Read more
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Race discrimination case settled against Inn |
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Six Irish Travellers have settled their race discrimination case against the Ryandale Inn (Moy) Ltd, in County Tyrone for £24,000. The group of family and friends visited the Ryandale Inn in May 2023 where they planned to have a meal. When they attempted to order drinks at the bar, they were refused service and were asked to leave.
The incident was recorded on a mobile phone and staff were made aware that they were being filmed. A staff member behind the bar was captured saying, “we can’t serve you,” and when then asked if the reason for this was because they were Travellers, the person behind the bar replied “Yes.” The group of friends said they were upset and embarrassed by how they were treated and felt humiliated that other customers could see and hear everything that was going on.
Mary Kitson, Senior Legal Officer, Equality Commission said: “Business owners must ensure that their staff know that it is unlawful to refuse service to someone because of their race. All businesses here must operate within our equality laws. Read more |
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Religious discrimination case settled for £6,500
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A Protestant man has settled his case of religious discrimination against John Bittles trading as Bittles Bar in Belfast for £6,500. The man went to Bittles Bar on a Friday afternoon to enjoy a drink. As he entered the bar, he met the landlord, John Bittles. He was embarrassed and felt intimidated by what happened next.
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The man says that Mr Bittles said to him, “no seat, no drink, new rules in the bar. I look after my locals”. He then pointed to a group of men on his left and continued, “you have not been in here for about three years and we don’t serve Protestants, only joking, no I’m not.” The man says these comments were said very loudly and were greeted by cheering from other customers within the bar. This made him feel very uncomfortable and he immediately left the bar. He said, “I honestly thought the days of this type of behaviour in Northern Ireland were behind us. I felt I had to challenge it, so I reported it to the police and contacted the Equality Commission.” Read more
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Improving representation in public life |
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Writing in his latest blog, Chris Jenkins, Senior Policy Officer, looks at the Equality Commission's work around participation in public life which looks to analyse and identify opportunities to make public appointments in Northern Ireland more reflective of the community they serve.
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"The roles need to be accessible to people regardless of age, gender, disability, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. Having a mix of people in public life from different backgrounds, including those protected by equality laws, will improve decision-making and outcomes. We want the NI Executive renew to efforts to: - increase the representation for people with disabilities
- achieve the Executive’s targets for gender equality in board and chair appointments
- improve data collection across equality grounds, especially for ethnic minorities."
Read the blog about underrepresentation in public life in Northern Ireland.
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Latest fair employment monitoring report published |
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The 33rd fair employment monitoring report has been published by the Equality Commission. This latest report shows the breakdown of the monitored workforce in NI by community background from data provided by private and public sector employers in 2022.
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For the first time since monitoring began, the share of the total monitored workforce from members of the Roman Catholic community [50.1%] was greater than that of members of the Protestant community [49.9%], reflecting a trend whereby Roman Catholics represent a majority of those available for work. This marks an end to the long-established trend of members of the Protestant community accounting for a greater share of the total monitored workforce and continues the trend of an increasing share from members of the Roman Catholic community.
Chief Commissioner Geraldine McGahey said: "We thank the employers who compile details of their workforce annually. The fair employment protections have been instrumental in driving this change in Northern Ireland. Although fair participation has not been achieved in all workplaces, we continue to encourage and support employers to continue their efforts to make this a reality." Read the full blog article |
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Department of Work and Pensions: Modernising support for independent living
The Equality Commission responded to the health and disability green paper on modernising support for independent living. Read the Commission's full response
NI Housing Executive: Draft Community Involvement and Cohesion Strategy 2024-29
The Commission responded to the NI Housing Executive's consultation on its draft community involvement and cohesion strategy 2024-29. Read the Commission's full response
Belfast HSC Trust: Closure of Muckamore Abbey Hospital
The Equality Commission responded to Belfast Health and Social Care Trust's consultation on its draft equality impact assessment on the implementation plan to close Muckamore Abbey Hospital. Read the Commission's full response
Department of Justice: Review of Civil Legal Aid – Call for Evidence
We also responded to the Department of Justice's review of Civil Legal Aid. Read the Commission's response |
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