Prejudice and Discrimination

Conference notes with great concern the rise  in right-wing populist forces internationally. Although there is diversity in their ideologies and perceived enemies a common issue amongst these dangerous political movements is their promotion of nationalism and hostility to the growth in ethnic minority communities. More worrying than the resurrection of the far right are the temporising gestures to the racists and anti-immigrants now coming from mainstream political parties and the uncritical propagation of their message by elements of the media. Conference also expresses concern at the recent rise in racist incidents on this island both north and south of the border which is linked to these recent political developments. Whilst acknowledging the trade union movements long and proud history of challenging prejudice and discrimination in all its forms here, conference believes that there is a grave onus on us to do more now. The spectrum of prejudice ranges from instances of overt discrimination or hate crime, to much more subtle everyday expressions, such as so-called banter , or ignoring or excluding certain people or groups, even unwittingly. Even people who consider themselves tolerant and are consciously non-prejudiced can have an implicit bias which is often activated without being recognised. Conference believes that prejudice should be viewed as a process in a set of relationships between people and, as such, prejudice should be regarded as a social problem which requires social change. Conference therefore calls on the incoming  Executive to Initiate a review of the experience and evidence on what measures are considered to be most effective in tackling prejudice in all the forms we experience it on this island, including sectarianism, sexism, homophobia, racism, etc. Produce a charter to tackle prejudice and discrimination for the trade union movement, the workplace and wider society.