CALLS for Usdaw members to “raise [their] voices and help to educate racism out of society” were today heard at the retail union’s annual conference.

Delegates meeting in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens urged the labour movement to come together and fight racial prejudice because it “hurts everybody.”

The appeal came during an equalities debate that saw the Usdaw national executive council announce plans for a new black activists’ development programme to “encourage and support” black members who wish to become more involved in the union’s work.

The initiative will run alongside Usdaw’s ongoing No Room for Racism campaign and its annual national conference for black members, the union said.

Delegate Raktima Sarkar said: “We have to raise our voice, no matter what the opposition. There is no other option.”

The Cardiff Central member urged attendees to go back to their workplaces and support colleagues who had been subjected to racial prejudice.  

Usdaw research suggests about 16 per cent of black and minority ethnic (BAME) members have experienced physical violence at work during the Covid-19 pandemic, compared with just under 9 per cent of their white colleagues.

“Please be there for them,” Ms Sarkar implored. “Take them aside and ask them what happened so they don’t have to suffer in silence.”

North Yorkshire delegate Shirley Smith said: “We need to educate racism out of our society. I urge everyone to go back into the workplace and the community and challenge racism.

“Not only does it destroy lives, it destroys families and it’s a killer.”

“Hidden underground” racism can often manifest itself in subtle ways at work, regional councillor Kelvin Blake warned.

“I urge all colleagues to take it seriously,” he stressed. “It hurts everyone.”

Usdaw deputy general secretary Dave McCrossen branded racial prejudice “pure evil” and called for all unions, including his own, to do more.

“I notice a lack of black faces in the audience, but that’s why we’re having this debate.

“We need to understand what we can do as an organisation to get more [BAME] people involved, to become reps, to become future leaders.

“Tackling racism or any form of discrimination is at the very heart of what Usdaw and the trade union movement is all about.

“It’s simple – it’s the right thing to do.”