Racism worker was victimised by STUC
Staff member made redundant after complaint
TRADE union chiefs ‘victimised’ a long-serving worker after he complained about racial discrimination, a tribunal has ruled.
Zaffir Hakim worked in an anti-racism department at the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) for 11 years before he was made redundant in 2015.
The 49-year-old, from Glasgow, had earlier complained to his bosses that he had been a victim of racial discrimination.
Mr Hakim, who is of Pakistani origin, had claimed he was discriminated against when he was paid off but a white colleague was kept on. STUC general secretary Grahame Smith disputed this and insisted Mr Hakim was made redundant after funding for the post was ended by the Scottish Government.
Mr Hakim’s original complaint of racial discrimination was dismissed but an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Edinburgh has ruled the STUC selected him for redundancy because of his complaint.
Lynn Welsh, of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Scotland, said: ‘This is an important decision not just for Mr Hakim but for all employees in Scotland.
‘Had the STUC’s appeal been successful this would have made it harder for workers to challenge victimisation by employers..’
Mr Hakim said: ‘I am glad that this case is finally over and I can get on with my life. I enjoyed working for the STUC and I was shocked when I was selected for redundancy as they didn’t seem to have followed any of the normal procedures.’
He added: ‘I felt strongly that they did this to get rid of me because I had made a complaint about discrimination before.’
The original tribunal in November 2016 found that Mr Hakim was unfairly dismissed and victimised because of his complaint.
The STUC, did not argue that he was unfairly dismissed, but refuted the claim he had been ‘victimised because of his complaint’.
But the EAT yesterday ruled that Mr Hakim was indeed victimised. It stated: ‘The tribunal dealt with a number of disputes in the evidence and made credibility and reliability findings.
‘In particular the tribunal found the claimant to be a more credible and reliable witness than the respondent’s general manager, Mr Smith. Other than where specifically highlighted in their judgment, the evidence of the claimant was preferred to that of Mr Smith.’
The case will now go back to the employment tribunal to decide how much will be awarded to Mr Hakim.
Mr Hakim was a key member of the One Workplace Equal Rights project at the STUC, a project ‘supporting trade unions in Scotland to promote equality and tackle discrimination’.
An STUC spokesman said: ‘We are disappointed by the judgment. The tribunal threw out the fallacious accusation of race discrimination.
‘It also accepted the STUC faced a genuine redundancy situation but did not accept that, on an aspect of process, the dismissal was fair.
‘We have now taken steps to correct our procedures, which will ensure that a similar situation will not arise in the future.’
He added: ‘The EAT has issued a lengthy judgment which we will take time to consider in detail before deciding on any further action.’
‘I am glad this is finally over’