The Lib Dem party has uncovered that the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) allegedly has the largest pay gap, at 34%, whilst departments such as the FCO, Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Transport (DfT) have no BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) staff at the highest pay grades at all. In at least three departments, the BME pay gap is widening.
In the Energy and Climate Change department, BME civil servants at the top pay grade are paid 14% less than their Non-BME counterparts, even within the same pay grade.
The party has launched a campaign claiming that the black and minority ethnic civil servants deserve parity with their white colleagues.
Last October, the former Prime Minister had announced measures to promote equality, saying “there is no place for a pay gap in today’s society”.
Greg Mulholland MP said: “The data paints a very concerning picture for civil servants of black and minority ethnic backgrounds. In some departments, they are paid nearly a third less than their colleagues who are white. What is also worrying is that other departments do not have any BME staff at a senior level, and other departments have not even disclosed the data that has been requested.
“The pay gap for BME civil servants shows, there is more that government could be doing.
“I would urge ministers to lead the way and introduce mandatory BME pay gap reporting for government departments and also for large companies. This would be one step forward to help us tackle this unacceptable pay gap.”
The gap in pay between BME and non BME staff differs between 3-34% in 2016.
