| History of National Racial Equality in Employment
Partnership
CRRU
Conference 1990
The international conference held in
1990 by the Community and Race Relations Unit (CRRU) urged the Churches to examine
their role as an employer in setting a lead for equal opportunity and also their role as
an investor and stakeholder in many major companies. The conference set up a forum
"The Economic Empowerment of the Black Community" to take forward the questions
raised.
"Buried Talents" 1992
The Forum’s approach to the ECCR
(Ecumenical Committee for Corporate Responsibility) led to the formation of REEP and
its first task which was to carry out a survey of the race equality policies of the
UK’s major employers. The survey’s report "Buried Talents" recognised
that a small number of those companies had taken positive steps to implement a race
equality programme, but acknowledged that for the majority, race equality was little more
than a policy statement.
The Wood-Sheppard Principles 1993
"Buried Talents" and the
two conferences which it prompted, one for church investors and the other for ten of the
UK’s major employers, highlighted the need for positive action to ensure racial
justice and equal opportunity in employment policy and practice.
REEP drew up 10 Principles together
with the Churches Commission for Racial Justice, which were designed to provide
employers with a clear framework for positive action to implement and review their race
equality policies. Bishops Wilfred Wood and David Sheppard gave their names and approval
to those Principles which were launched at Church House, Westminster.
REEP 1994 to date
During the last six years, with
limited resources, REEP has focused its work on two key areas:-Encouraging employers to endorse the
Wood-Sheppard Principles.
A growing number of major employers have now endorsed
the principles. A small number of those organisations are now actively reporting and
monitoring their progress in implementing the Principles and developing a more diverse
work force.Promoting awareness of the Principles
through conferences, presentations and a brochure sponsored by Littlewoods PLC.
Working closely with the local
Industrial Missions and Race Equality Councils, REEP has helped to organise six major
conferences in Liverpool, Cardiff, Croydon, Slough, Birmingham, Sheffield and Kent in
September 2000.
REEP was set up as an independent
organisation in 1996 when Mark Nicholson joined to play a lead role as project consultant
with the additional support over the last two years of a secondee, first Neil Tummon and
now David Clarke, from Customs & Excise.
During the last year, REEP has laid
the groundwork for expanding its work by developing an accreditation system which would
enable it to work more closely with employers in helping them to implement the
Wood-Sheppard Principles.
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