41% of Black, minority workers in UK suffer racism at work: Study

The study also highlighted the reluctance of workers to report incidents of racist behaviour.

London: About 41 per cent of Black, brown and minority ethnic workers (BME) in the UK say they have “faced racism at work in the last five years”, according to a latest study.

The situation is even more serious among younger people — about 52 per cent of BME workers aged from 25 to 34 reported suffering racism during the same period, according to the study published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), a federation of the country’s labour unions.

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Racist incidents included overhearing racist jokes, being subjected to stereotyping or comments about appearance, receiving racist remarks, or outright bullying and harassment, reports Xinhua news agency.

The study also highlighted the reluctance of workers to report incidents of racist behaviour.

About 44 per cent said they did not report them because they “didn’t believe it would be taken seriously”.

Incidents of racism and discrimination have also had a clear negative impact on BME workers, says the study.

Around a third reported that the most recent incident left them feeling less confident at work (35 per cent), and a similar proportion said it made them feel embarrassed (34 per cent) and had a negative impact on their mental health (31 per cent).

“This report lifts the lid on racism in workplaces in the UK. It shines a light on the enormous scale of structural and institutional discrimination BME workers face,” TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said.