Case studies - conciliated complaints under the RDA
Following is a selection of case studies of conciliated complaints of race discrimination. Other case studies of complaints conciliated by HREOC are available in the conciliation register.
Racial hatred, race discrimination and victimisation in employment
Sam and David, who are of
Nigerian ethnic origin, were employed as factory workers with a manufacturing
company. They alleged that their supervisor repeatedly made comments to them
such as “Black idiot”, “Come here, you f...... African”,
“Hey you, black man, you’re rubbish”, “You eat like a
monkey” and “Go back to Africa”.
In addition, Sam and David claimed that
the company did not respond appropriately to their internal complaints and that
their supervisor verbally and physically threatened them because of their
complaint to HREOC.
In written
correspondence, the supervisor denied the allegations. He claimed that Sam and
David made their complaints after he had acted to address their unacceptable
workplace behaviour, which included challenging his authority and making
comments about him in another language.
The company took part in a conciliation
process and the complaint was resolved with the company agreeing to provide both
men with a written apology and $17, 550 in compensation to cover hurt and
embarrassment and medical and counselling costs. The company also said it would
put in place an anti-discrimination policy and associated complaint process;
provide anti-discrimination training to all staff members; and encourage the
supervisor to attend training and
counselling.
Discrimination in the provision of goods and services
Kate, who has a Chinese
background, was travelling with a group of students of the same ethnic
background. She claimed an airline attendant acted in a rude and racist manner
towards her and her group by telling them that they could not have their
allocated seats near the exit. When Kate queried this, she claimed that the
flight attendant asked her if she could speak English. Despite telling the
flight attendant that she had lived in Australia for almost 30 years, Kate was
told the group could not sit in an exit row and they were moved to the back of
the plane.
In response, the airline
stated that the flight attendant had asked Kate and her group if they could
speak English because they were sitting in an exit row and she needed to explain
the safety briefing card to them. The flight attendant said she asked the party
to move from the exit seats because she felt they had not listened to her safety
briefing or looked over the safety information cards.
The complaint was resolved through
conciliation, with the airline agreeing to provide Kate with a statement of
regret and $750 in compensation. The airline also undertook to review their
staff training program.
Race discrimination in employment
Tony,
who is Indigenous, had worked in a customer service role with a Commonwealth
government department for six months. He claimed that during his employment his
immediate supervisor unfairly criticised his work and questioned him about his
personal leave, even though he had provided medical certificates for the
absences. Tony stated that he lodged an internal grievance and that his
subsequent probation report recommended termination of his employment.
When HREOC discussed the complaint with
the department, they undertook to conduct an internal review of the decision not
to permanently appoint Tony. A few days later the department advised HREOC that
Tony’s ongoing employment had been confirmed and that he had been offered
career counselling and the option of moving to a different work location.
Tony informed HREOC that the steps
taken by the department had resolved his complaint.
Race and age discrimination in employment
Sanath, who is 45
and of Sri Lankan background, was employed as a warehouse assistant. He claimed
that another employee who was younger than him and of Anglo-Saxon background was
given better hours and more assistance from the company.
Sanath also claimed that this
particular employee would stare at him and make comments such as “black
bastards” and “black arseholes” whenever he walked by. He also
alleged that he had not been given promotions and salary increments due to him
and had been paid only half of the bonuses paid to other staff.
The company said that although Sanath
and the employee he referred to in the complaint had the same job title, they
had different duties and different hours of work. The company claimed that
Sanath was not treated any differently than his co-workers and was not
financially disadvantaged at any time, nor had he raised any concerns with
management about race or age discrimination.
The complaint was resolved through
conciliation. Sanath decided to resign and the company agreed to pay him his
resignation entitlements along with $10,000 in general damages.
