4 May 2004 - Research - Health and Safety Issues of Black and Minority Ethnic Groups
A recent review of work-related health and safety issues relating to black and minority ethnic groups in the UK has been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), funded by the HSE and conducted by the University of Warwick. The research - Review of the occupational health and safety of Britain’s ethnic minorities, faced difficulties because of a lack of previous UK research evidence, especially that of primary research or reliable monitoring data from UK sources.
The evidence-based review on work-related health and safety issues relating to black and minority ethnic groups concluded that:
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UK South Asians are generally under-represented within the most hazardous occupational groups. They have lower accident rates overall, while black Caribbean workers rates are similar to the general population
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Bangladeshi and Chinese workers report the lowest workplace injury rates
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UK South Asian people exhibit higher levels of limiting long-term illness (LLI) and self reported poor health than the general population while black Africans and Chinese report lower levels
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Ethnic minority workers with LLI are more likely than whites to withdraw from the workforce, or to experience lower wage rates
The research concludes that there remains a need to improve monitoring and data collection relating to black and ethnic minority populations and migrant workers. There are also suggestions of workshops on occupational health promotion programmes for ethnic minorities.
The review can be accessed here.
