Latest news with #racialDiscrimination
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Currys worker's fury over missing office mug ‘out of proportion', judge rules
The colleagues of a man who became 'very upset' about his office mug going missing likely felt his response was 'out of proportion', an employment tribunal has found. A judge ruled that Adeel Habib probably gave his colleagues 'reason to believe that he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing' and that this is 'likely to have caused some resentment towards him'. The ruling came in a case brought by Mr Habib against Currys, where he was employed between January and March 2023 as a credit support associate at their office in Poole, Dorset. Mr Habib accused his former colleagues of 'cold-shouldering' him following the dispute over his mug, which he claimed amounted to racial discrimination. But his claim was dismissed after a hearing in Southampton, with Judge David Hughes saying that Mr Habib was 'probably very upset' about his mug and noting that 'he can language that is apt to strike others as confrontational, even if he does not intend to be'. The judge said: 'We find that he probably did give his colleagues reason to believe that he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing. We find that this is likely to have caused some resentment towards him.' He added: 'Sad though it is to have to say this, it seems to us to be likely that Mr Habib is, unfortunately, ill-equipped to cope with the nuances of social interaction in the workplace, and lacks the sort of social skills that might have eased tensions that arose around the mug incident.' Mr Habib also alleged that he had been racially discriminated against in his manager's decision to deny him five weeks' of holiday leave to attend weddings in Pakistan, in a request lodged a month after joining the company. But this was rejected by the tribunal, with the judge finding that 'Mr Habib was denied his requested holiday leave on a reasonable application of Currys' policy and practice'. A further claim, that he was sexually harassed by a married colleague who left a bottle of Juice Burst on his desk, which Mr Habib considered to have 'a sexual connotation', was also rejected. However, Mr Habib was awarded three weeks' additional notice pay, with the tribunal rejecting further claims for arrears of pay and bonus payments.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
One in six New Zealanders experienced discrimination last year
A 2022 rally in Auckland protesting against Asian discrimination. Photo: RNZ / Kate Gregan About one in six New Zealanders experienced discrimination in 2024 according to data collected for the annual report of the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS). The report explores data from the NZCVS key results 2024 (Cycle 7) report, based on interviews with New Zealanders conducted between October 2023 and October 2024. Seventeen percent of adults reported experiencing discrimination, with racial discrimination being the most common, reported by 11 percent of adults. Discrimination by gender and age were both next, each reported by five percent of adults. Around half of sexual assault victims (49 percent) thought that their victimisation was driven by discrimination towards gender or sex. Around a fifth of victims of threats and harassment (20 percent) thought their victimisation was driven by racial discrimination. Sector insights general manager at the Ministry of Justice Rebecca Parish said from 2018 to 2024, nine percent of Asian victims felt their victimisation was due to racial discrimination, three times higher than the proportion of European victims. "Research in the United States and Canada has also reported higher rates of discrimination against Asian people since the Covid-19 pandemic." People from different population groups reported varying experiences of discrimination. In 2024, 21 percent of women reported experiencing some form of discrimination, four percentage points higher than the New Zealand average, and compared with 13 percent of men. Māori and Chinese adults are more likely to report experiencing discrimination. Twenty-two percent of Māori adults reported discrimination, but the number was even higher for Chinese adults at 28 percent. Bisexual adults were almost twice as likely to report experiencing discrimination compared to the New Zealand average (30 percent to 17 percent). Discrimination within the criminal justice system was reported by seven percent of adults over their lifetime. Rates were significantly higher among Māori (18 percent) and Pacific peoples (12 percent). In 2024, nearly half of New Zealand adults (47 percent) came into contact with the criminal justice system, for reasons ranging from police vehicle stops (36 percent) to attending jury service (three percent). Most people who came into contact with the criminal justice system (67 percent) had a high level of satisfaction with the system but only 40 percent had high trust, which was lower than the New Zealand average (45 percent). "Contact with the criminal justice system is just one of many factors that influence a person's trust in the system. Perceptions of fairness, effectiveness, and bias within the criminal justice system can all influence trust outside of direct contact with the system. Studies with victims in other countries have also found low trust among victims of crime who have been through criminal proceedings," Parish said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Sparks fly between Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Dem Rep. Watson Coleman: 'You should feel shameful'
Sparks flew on Capitol Hill Wednesday as Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced off with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., in a fiery exchange during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in the latest clash over the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. The war of words began when Watson Coleman asked, "Do you believe that there is illegal discrimination against people who are Black or brown, and other types of discrimination in jobs and education in this country?" "I think it still exists in some areas," McMahon replied. Watson Coleman pressed further: "Then can you tell me why the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Education is being decimated?" McMahon responded, "Well, it isn't being decimated. We have reduced the size of it. However, we are taking on a backlog of cases that were left over from the Biden administration." Watson Coleman grew visibly frustrated and accused the administration of racial bias in immigration and education policies, saying its actions amounted to "favoritism and prioritization of white over color." In a blistering rebuke, Watson Coleman said, "Your rhetoric means nothing to me. What means something to me is the actions of this administration. I'm telling you, the Department of Education is one of the most important departments in this country. And you should feel shameful to be engaged with an administration that doesn't give a damn." McMahon, remaining composed, replied, "I am the secretary of Education who has been approved to run this agency by Congress. And I was appointed by the president. And I serve at his pleasure under his mandate. So, therefore, the direction of his administration is what I will follow." The exchange came as part of a larger hearing in which McMahon laid out President Donald Trump's 2026 education budget proposal, which calls for a $12 billion cut to the Education Department, a 15% reduction. McMahon described her work as the department's "final mission": to wind it down and restore education oversight to states, parents and local educators. "Let's focus on literacy. What we're seeing in those scores is a failure of our students to learn to read," McMahon said. "We've lost the fundamentals." Chairman Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., praised McMahon's approach, noting, "Despite $3 trillion in federal education spending since 1980, student achievement has not improved. The answer is not more money. It's more accountability and local control." The plan consolidates 18 federal programs into a single $2 billion block grant to states. Democrats labeled the proposal as a backdoor effort to gut federal support for public schools. On student loans, McMahon said the department has begun recovering repayments after years of Biden-era pauses and confusion. "Since we restarted collections in May, we have recovered nearly $100 million," she said. She also defended staffing cuts and administrative restructuring, stating, "We're delivering on all of our statutory requirements with fewer people and lower overhead." Republicans on the subcommittee shared their support for charter schools and school choice. McMahon, in agreement, pointed to a proposed $60 million increase in charter school funding. "We've got about a million students on charter school waiting lists," she said. "Parents should be deciding where their children can go to school and get the best education." Democrats also criticized McMahon for not defending early childhood education, particularly Head Start, even though the program technically falls under the Department of Health and Human Services. "Every Head Start program in the country has three days of funding. That's not someone else's problem. It's America's children," said Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif. McMahon responded, "The earlier we can start education, the better, but I don't believe the federal government is responsible for everything. That's where states can lead." The Trump administration also defended its position forcefully outside the hearing room. "On the topic of corruption, let's not forget that the Department of Education was created by President Carter in an attempt to win voters," Savannah Newhouse, Education Department press secretary, said in a statement to Fox News Digital following the exchange. "Since then, we have spent over $3 trillion pretending the department is necessary as student learning outcomes have not improved," she continued. "While the congresswoman from New Jersey basks in her five minutes of fame, the Trump administration is working to improve student outcomes and ensure American families have access to the quality education that they deserve."
Washington Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
The history behind Trump's offer of refugee status to White South Africans
The first group of White South Africans arrived in the United States on Monday, designated by President Donald Trump as refugees fleeing racial discrimination in their home country. Other arrivals, including of refugees fleeing some of the world's worst humanitarian crises, have ground to a halt under Trump.
Sky News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
White South Africans arrive in US after Trump administration granted them refugee status
Dozens of white South Africans have arrived in the US after the Trump administration granted them refugee status in the country, having deemed them victims of racial discrimination. The first 59 Afrikaners were greeted by Christopher Landau, the US deputy secretary of state, at Washington's Dulles International Airport on Monday. President Donald Trump invited Afrikaners, the descendants of mainly Dutch settlers, to move to the US in February to escape the alleged discrimination they face at the hands of the black majority in South Africa. Mr Trump echoed his white South African-born ally Elon Musk, who used to be his US national security adviser, on Monday as he told reporters at the White House that there was "genocide that's taking place", with Afrikaners being killed. Neither Mr Trump nor Mr Musk provided any evidence for this claim. Mr Trump also denied favouring Afrikaners because they are white, saying that their race "makes no difference to me". South Africa said there is no evidence of persecution of Afrikaners or a "white genocide", as Mr Musk called it, taking place in the country. Mr Landau said many of the South Africans who arrived in the US were farming families who could have the land they worked for generations expropriated. He also repeated Mr Trump's claims that they were facing threats of violence. Mr Trump's order to resettle Afrikaners came after South Africa introduced a land law that enables the state to expropriate land in the public interest. The policy caused concern among some white South Africans, despite no land being seized. The US president cut all financial assistance to the country due to his disapproval of the land policy and South Africa's genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Israel, one of Washington's allies. 'We never expected this land expropriation thing to go so far," said one of the arrivals, Charl Kleinhaus, 46, who came to the US with his daughter, son and grandson and is set to resettle in Buffalo, New York. Mr Kleinhaus said that his life was threatened and that people tried to claim his property as their own, but his account could not be independently verified. The US would welcome more Afrikaners in the coming months, according to a spokesperson for the State Department. "We think that the American government has got the wrong end of the stick here, but we'll continue talking to them," Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, said at a conference in Ivory Coast. Mr Ramaphosa said that the white Afrikaners who arrived in the US had left South Africa because they were against the policies aimed at addressing racial inequality, which has persisted in the country since the apartheid rule of the white minority ended three decades ago.
