Unison Herts

BME stands for “Black & Minority Ethnic “. This term is used in an attempt to describe in shorthand all non-White people in British society who feel disadvantaged in one way or another in employment or elsewhere by virtue of the fact that they are not white. It is not a perfect terminology, but it is in many ways better than just using the word “Black” alone to describe this diverse group of people. It is an attempt by society to use shorthand words to describe situations. BAME is another word in circulation. It stands for “Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic”. However, we am less inclined to use BAME because it rhymes with BARMY which is an abusive word.

The BME members in Hertfordshire Unison are a loosely formed Self Organising Group (SOG) of ethnic minority Unison members who are active in the union and attend union meetings. We consult with each other on matters of interest to us, but we are not a formal group because we are small in numbers. Nevertheless, we are hoping that more people will join our group so that we can one day formalise the group.

Meanwhile, we invite all ethnic minority members of Unison, who have something to say, or who want to be part of this group, to contact us to have their say about how we can get our employer - Hertfordshire County Council – to improve our conditions of work, promote us in our work when we merit it, allow us the freedom to express ourselves professionally so that we can grow in our work and gain the confidence that we need to aspire to greater things. It is not by coincidence that BME members are disproportionately disciplined at work and/or disproportionately bullied & harassed at work. It is a way to make BME people lose their confidence and hopefully leave their jobs.

If you would like to be part of this very important group then please contact us and give us your name, address and contact phone number so that we can easily contact you when we need to. To contact us, please phone Amanda Barclay, Herts Unison Administrator, on 01992 556260. Our previous BME lead has now moved from this post so we are actively looking for another member who would like to take up this very important role to help promote BME members' rights and welfare within their work environment. If you are interested, please let Amanda or Keith know to discuss the role further.