Black and minority ethnic workers are more likely to be “trapped” in temporary and insecure work, new research suggests.
A study by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) indicated that black and minority ethnic (BME) workers are faring worse than white workers in the jobs market.
There are 3.9 million BME working people in the UK and they are more than twice as likely to be on agency contracts as white workers, said the TUC.
They are also more likely to be on zero-hours contracts and in temporary work, according to the research.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Far too many BME workers are stuck in low-paid, insecure and temporary work.
“This has a huge impact on their living standards and life chances.
“This problem isn’t simply going to disappear over time. We need a co-ordinated approach led by government to confront inequality and racism in the labour market - and wider society.”
The TUC is calling on the government to legislate to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for all employers with more than 50 workers, including a duty to produce an action plan.
A government spokesman said: “Discrimination has no place in our jobs market, and diversity is good for both businesses and the communities they serve.
“We already have near record-high ethnic minority employment in the UK-but we want even more companies’ workforces to reflect modern Britain.
“In October, the Prime Minister launched a series of measures to help employers identify how to tackle ethnic disparities in the workplace, including a new Race at Work Charter and a consultation on mandatory ethnicity pay reporting.”