Ethnic Oldham praised

OLDHAM Council is one of the North-West’s best authorities for filling high-earning jobs with members of ethnic minority communities.

The borough came second in a poll by Britain’s general union the GMB to discover the proportion of the highest paid council workers to come from ethnic backgrounds.

Liverpool topped the table with 10 per cent closely followed by Oldham with 7 per cent. Blackpool came bottom with only 1 per cent. Rochdale and Tameside scored 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Hackney Council topped the national league with 28 per cent of its highest earners coming from ethnic backgrounds.

Kamaljeet Jandu, GMB’s national equality and inclusion officer, said: “GMB believes that employers should reflect the make up of local communities and travel to work areas in their workforces.

“GMB commend those local councils which have achieved this at the highest pay level in their organisations as a commitment to equality and real progress.

“There are lessons here for employers in the public and private sectors who have not acknowledged this and made progress.”