Racial abuse includes nationality

Scotsman claims harassment for being Scottish

Racism is much in the news at the moment. We have had the allegations against Luis Suarez, John Terry and more recently the FIFA General Secretary Sepp Blatter claiming that if someone on the pitch used racist terms then the aggrieved should ‘turn the other cheek’!

Perhaps one of the least discussed forms of racism is that which occurs against someone’s nationality. One such incident lies at the heart of an employment tribunal which is currently being heard in Exeter.

It involves a Scotsman who was in a North Cornwall slaughterhouse. Mark Lynch alleges that English colleagues called him “sweaty sock, Jock and Scottie” and other abusive names during the seven years he worked at the abattoir.

An employment tribunal in Exeter, Devon, was told that in June 2007 when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, one worker said: “That’s the country f****** now that Scottish p**** is in charge.”

Another asked Mr Lynch if he had seen the film Braveheart making a crude remark after quoting the scene where an English nobleman forces himself on a bride on her wedding night.

Mr Lynch claimed that some made comments about Glasgow being the “murder and Aids capital of Europe and that his colleagues claimed that in TV soaps like EastEnders, all the killers and wife beaters were Scottish.

Mr Lynch said the bullying and intimidation lasted for the seven years he worked there until he felt he had to quit. And he claimed non-English workers were discriminated against.

Mr Lynch’s case is on-going but what it highlights is a growing trend within the United Kingdom in racist incidents and allegations across the nations. In our work at Equal and Diverse we work across the United Kingdom and in many training sessions on equality hear of incidents where a worker’s nationality is the cause or butt of harassment and intimidation. Any English person who has been the victim of such harassment in Scotland, or any Polish person who has been the object of a ‘Go back to your own country’ statement will recognise that this racism is becoming more widespread not least in economically stringent times.

Racism is racism is racism. All organisations need to ensure they have policies and procedures in place to protect their workers and also to ensure that all staff know that using national stereotypes to demean, devalue and discriminate against a colleague is indeed illegal. We need to do more to address a growing and disturbing phenomenon of nationality racism in Britain.

Share with us if you have been the victim of such behaviour by leaving a comment.

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Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk
Source : the Cornish Guardian

See also:

Racism in sport is not just banter