Black Workers Group (BWG)

What is the Black Workers Group (BWG)?

We are a group for all black employees from all departments at the County Council.

How do I know if I can be a member of the BWG?

Membership is open to all black workers of all grades employed throughout Leicestershire County Council. The Black Workers Group seeks to provide support to all its members regardless of their status as an employee. We encourage each person to participate at whatever level they find appropriate, as we need everyone to contribute, in order to achieve our aims and objectives.

The group offers support to Black Workers employed by the County Council*. The group aims to make a positive contribution to the improvement of services to the communities we serve and the development of policy.

(*the term “Black” will be used to describe the non white staff of the County Council or the non white population of Leicestershire)

How often are meetings and when do they take place?

These take place once a month, between 2pm and 5pm on the third Tuesday of each month. All black workers regardless of grade or status can attend meetings. The group has the full support of Leicestershire County Council. Line managers have been informed to support attendance taking into account the needs of the service. Meetings take place at County Hall and other venues in the County.

You can view the agendas, minutes and papers from previous meetings of the group here (please note these will only be available if you have access to the LCC Intranet/CIS).

Why do we have a Black Workers Group?

We have a BWG to help empower, support, and promote self-development of county councils black workers.
We are responsible for shaping policy at the County Council relating to both employment and service delivery.
We also work toward the Council’s objective of promoting equality and diversity, and ending discrimination.

What else does the BWG do?

The group provides a forum for networking and an opportunity for members to share and discuss any concerns/issues they may have relating to their working environment. This is confidential within the group and takes place after the business of the meeting has concluded.
Every year we hold a Black Workers Group Conference.
For more information about the group please use the contact details at the foot of this page.

The group makes a positive contribution to the improvement of services to the communities we serve and the development of County Council policy.

In recent years the group have secured positive action measure to better enable its members. These measures include:

Representation on Corporate equalities board
Corporate Mentoring project for BME and disabled employees
A Register of trained employees from BME groups to take part in recruitment processes
Dedicated ILM Manager training
Annual Black Workers Group Conference

For further information please contact:

Tejinder Singh Sohansoha, Chairperson of the Group
0116 305 7368