Sandwell Council top pay scales show disparity
Sandwell Council has defended its record employing of ethnic minorities after it was revealed only two black and Asian people are among its 46 top bosses.
The massive race gap came to light in a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request showing the make up of the council’s workforce by pay scale and ethnic origin.
Councillor Maria Crompton, deputy leader of the council, said: “Diversity really matters, both to me and the council.
"Our new cabinet of councillors has more councillors than ever before from black and ethnic minority backgrounds – five in total – and this is something I am very proud of.
"We know that the more diverse our workforce is, the better we can reflect the people who live and use our services across Sandwell.
"This is why we are looking at workforce diversity across all our council practices, from our recruitment and development, to becoming a more inclusive employer, through to the sourcing of talent.
"To help achieve this, a corporate diversity and inclusion action plan has been created.”
The authority employs 4,149 workers, 988 from Black Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.
Overall, BAME staff make up almost 24 percent of employees in a borough where a third of the population are non-white.
Out of the top five pay grades listed in FOI data, only 15 of 173 employees are from ethnic minorities.
Monitoring Officer, Surjit Tour, is he most senior BAME employee who the council’s published pay policy shows is paid between £92,547 and £107,922 a year.
The council highest-paid member of staff is chief executive David Stevens, who earns £147,532.
Despite the gap in pay, Councillor Crumpton said Sandwell has a better record than other local councils.
He said: "We know that currently the representation of BAME Sandwell employees in the workforce and in leadership roles is the second highest of any neighbouring authority, although we do recognise that it is significantly less than the local working age BAME population.
"But we also acknowledge that we need to do more which is why we have a diversity and inclusion action plan that has been developed jointly with our employees and which seeks to deliver our ambition in the above pledge."
