8 February 2001 Edition
Irishman wins workplace racism case
BY FERN LANE
A employment tribunal in Manchester, England, has found in favour of Irishman Gordon Campbell, who claimed racial discrimination and constructive dismissal against his former company, Carpet Factors in Bolton. In its ruling, the tribunal said that Campbell's case was ``well founded''. Damages are to be awarded later.
Campbell, originally from Tipperary, had told the tribunal that he was forced to resign from his position as Sales Manager with the company in 1999 after five years of continuous racial abuse from a number of his former colleagues. This abuse included being routinely referred to as a ``thick Irish paddy'' and a ``leprechaun''. He was supported in his allegations by other former colleagues who confirmed that they had heard staff abusing Campbell. One member of staff, Alan Birchall, admitted to the tribunal that Campbell has been the ``butt of company jokes'' and that he himself had said to Campbell ``There's three things wrong with you; one, you're Irish; two, you live in this country; and three, you're still breathing''. The company's claims that Campbell had crashed his company vehicle, missed sales targets and was a poor timekeeper were dismissed.
The racial abuse of Irish people, as of other ethnic groups, in the workplace is not uncommon in England, but Irish workers are often more reluctant to take their cases to tribunal because of the difficulty in getting the abuse defined as racially-motivated in the first place. The victory of Gordon Campbell may begin to change that, but in the past those few who have gone ahead have also had to face having their complaints trivialised in media which, unable to comprehend either that Irish people are an ethnic group or that as, usually, white people, they could be the victims of racism, has often treated such cases as frivolous or another example of ``political correctness gone mad''.
This attitude is embodied by the Daily Telegraph, which reported the case of Gordon Campbell. Some weeks ago, when it was announced that Irishness would, after many years of campaigning by the Irish community in Britain, finally be included as an ethnic definition on the forthcoming census forms, the newspaper took offence, pointedly stating in its editorial that ``Irish people are not black''. Ignoring the fact that some Irish people are indeed black, the paper insisted that, being white, Irish people cannot possibly qualify for identity as a distinct ethnic group.
A employment tribunal in Manchester, England, has found in favour of Irishman Gordon Campbell, who claimed racial discrimination and constructive dismissal against his former company, Carpet Factors in Bolton. In its ruling, the tribunal said that Campbell's case was ``well founded''. Damages are to be awarded later.
Campbell, originally from Tipperary, had told the tribunal that he was forced to resign from his position as Sales Manager with the company in 1999 after five years of continuous racial abuse from a number of his former colleagues. This abuse included being routinely referred to as a ``thick Irish paddy'' and a ``leprechaun''. He was supported in his allegations by other former colleagues who confirmed that they had heard staff abusing Campbell. One member of staff, Alan Birchall, admitted to the tribunal that Campbell has been the ``butt of company jokes'' and that he himself had said to Campbell ``There's three things wrong with you; one, you're Irish; two, you live in this country; and three, you're still breathing''. The company's claims that Campbell had crashed his company vehicle, missed sales targets and was a poor timekeeper were dismissed.
The racial abuse of Irish people, as of other ethnic groups, in the workplace is not uncommon in England, but Irish workers are often more reluctant to take their cases to tribunal because of the difficulty in getting the abuse defined as racially-motivated in the first place. The victory of Gordon Campbell may begin to change that, but in the past those few who have gone ahead have also had to face having their complaints trivialised in media which, unable to comprehend either that Irish people are an ethnic group or that as, usually, white people, they could be the victims of racism, has often treated such cases as frivolous or another example of ``political correctness gone mad''.
This attitude is embodied by the Daily Telegraph, which reported the case of Gordon Campbell. Some weeks ago, when it was announced that Irishness would, after many years of campaigning by the Irish community in Britain, finally be included as an ethnic definition on the forthcoming census forms, the newspaper took offence, pointedly stating in its editorial that ``Irish people are not black''. Ignoring the fact that some Irish people are indeed black, the paper insisted that, being white, Irish people cannot possibly qualify for identity as a distinct ethnic group.