Sir Bill Morris: It is still a society where merit can count and does count.
Jamaicans in the United Kingdom (U.K.) have mixed feelings about the jobs they are currently undertaking, with many citing discrimination as the cause for their not being in better positions.
But, despite claiming racism in the U.K., many argue that the jobs they do have are reflective of their skills and qualification.
A Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll found that a majority of Jamaicans living in the U.K., 54 per cent, believe they are working in positions for which they are qualified.
Of the sample, 56 per cent are employed full-time, 13 per cent are part-time employees and 10 per cent are self-employed.
Unskilled labourers, 17 per cent, account for most of the employed persons sampled, with semi-skilled workers, 13 per cent, professionals, 10 per cent, and white-collar workers nine per cent, accounting for the greatest percentage thereafter.
Seven per cent of the sample were in managerial or supervisory positions.
Better positions
But while 54 per cent of the sample in the March 17 to 27 poll said their current positions take into account overall skills, training and experience, 22 per cent - the average of 15 per cent Jamaican-born and 41 per cent U.K. born - felt they are qualified for better positions.
Asked what they thought contributed to their placement, lack of experience and too much com-petition were advanced as the main reasons.
Academician Dr. Susan Mains said that while the data collected by pollster Bill Johnson and his team did not point to exactly why second and third-generation Jamaicans in Britain are not happy about their jobs, one possible reason could be discrimination.
"Those born in England may be more educated but have found it difficult to get the jobs that they want," Dr. Mains reasoned.
Delroy Green, a Jamaican who teaches in a predominantly white U.K. school, has said that "it is very difficult for well-educated people to get employment.
"You are seen as a threat and very often you may not get jobs. Some black people have had to tone down their résumés and others in jobs have found that promotions do not come your way".
"Once you are black, it is as if everyone else around you move ... you remain static," Green told The Gleaner.
Discrimination
Similarly, Sir Bill Morris, a Jamaican-born trade unionist in the U.K., has said that despite laws governing discrimination, the Jamaican migrants in Britain continue to fight against the odds.
"A lack of promotion in jobs is an issue and low grade jobs is an issue facing Jamaicans here," Sir Bill said.
In spite of the laws governing discrimination, Sir Bill said that studies have shown that if two persons, a black and a white, go for a particular job, very often the black does not get the job even though he may be just as qualified.
Last year, London Metropolitan University conducted a study that found black teachers in London to be subjected to daily racist abuse.
According to the study conducted for Mayor Ken Livingstone, black teachers are still under-represented in London schools.
Racism
The report said: "Racism has a major impact on the everyday experiences of black teachers.
"To encourage more black people to become teachers, racism in schools must be challenged and support mechanisms put in place to enable staff and pupils to counteract racist experiences," the 2006 study said. Five years earlier, Britain's Trade Union Congress report, 'Black Workers Deserve Better', claimed that racism was intensifying in Britain's workplaces with black and Asian people more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white counterparts.
The black and Asian unemployment rate stood at 12 per cent compared with 5 per cent for whites, the study said.
It also added that the gap was smaller in 1990 when black and Asian unemployment was 11 per cent and the white rate was six per cent. Black and Asian workers have not benefited as much as the white population from an expanding economy - the world's fourth largest - and an overall drop in unemployment to below a million claimants.
