Union probes FE colleges' race equality performance

The UCU lecturers' union has joined forces with the government's race watchdog, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), in a bid to improve race equality performance in the further education (FE) sector.

A UCU conference this month launched the union's national Race Equality Campaign, with workshops examining the importance of black staff networks and union responses to race discrimination.

And the union and the CRE are monitoring whether FE institutions are carrying out their obligations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

The Act places a "race equality duty" on public authorities, including colleges, to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote good relations between people of different racial groups. They must also undertake race equality impact assessments (REIAs) of their current and proposed policies, to ensure that they meet the Act's requirements.

Fifty institutions will be asked for their race equality policies, with the aim of improving practice and highlighting areas of concern and non-compliance. Data on employment (such as recruitment and career progression) will also be assessed.

"It is with some concern that we report little has changed" in the four years since the Act came into effect, the union says. It notes that colleges still struggle to produce race equality policies "which reflect the uniqueness of their institution", as well as "routinely" failing to produce pre-emptive REIAs.

Meanwhile, "governing boards do not reflect the constituency they serve" and less than 1% of college principals are black.

And universities are not immune to criticism, either - they too "still grapple with the issue of race equality impact assessments", often completing them after rather than before a procedural or policy shift. And black staff in higher education are concentrated in lower levels of the staffing structure, with little access to progression.

"The Act should be a really positive tool for colleges to improve how they treat staff and how they ensure their courses meet the needs of local communities," said Roger Kline, UCU head of equality and employment rights. "The project will enable us to ensure that colleges understand the importance of race impact assessments on new and revised policies and practices."