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Racism forces more and more indigenous people to leave the labor market
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Racism forces more and more indigenous people to leave the labor market

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WARNING: disturbing content
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers are three times more likely to leave their workplace due to racism, according to a new report unveiled on Wednesday.

The report, entitled ‘Gari Yala-Speak the truth‘, found that 38 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were mistreated at work because of their cultural identity.

40 percent said they had heard racial or ethnic slurs or jokes about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and more than half said they had been subjected to comments about their physical appearance as Indigenous people.
Indigenous employees are two and a half times less likely to be satisfied at work compared to non-Indigenous colleagues who are not victims of racism or unfair treatment.
The report follows the first installment of research, Car Jala, released in 2020 by the UTS Centre, led by Professor Nareen Young.
“Our Gari Yala work, the only Indigenous-led study of First Nations workers in Australia, once again shows that racism is an endemic problem in our workplaces,” Professor Young said.
“This is a huge productivity problem for the country and that is why it must stop.

“It’s not 1925 – community values ​​have changed and workplaces don’t seem to have changed with the times. We need new approaches so that everyone can make the contribution they are capable of.”

Bad for the people, bad for the economy

The research was released to coincide with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) two-day conference in Melbourne.

No one should be forced to quit their job because of racism. Unfortunately, that is often the reality

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference 2025: Anti-racism, truth and treaty will bring together union leaders from across the country to discuss the impact of workplace racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil said she was “deeply disturbed” by the report data.

“We all need to ensure our workplaces are safe for everyone,” she said.
“No one should be forced to leave their job because of racism. Unfortunately, that is often the reality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.
“Racism causes unrest and imposes a financial penalty on workers and their families, who may be forced to change jobs to cope.

“That is bad for workers and their families and for economic growth and has no place in modern Australia.”

ACTU Indigenous Affairs Officer and Birri Gubba woman from Central West Queensland, Lara Watson, said systemic racism is “embedded in Australian workplace culture”.
“Racism causes chronic stress for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers,” she said.
“It’s like death by a thousand cuts and you live in fear, hoping that each cut isn’t the last that you can’t handle.

“A comment may seem like a joke, but it can be deeply affecting when someone hears it for the thousandth time.”

Lara Watson from the ACTU and Adam Fletcher from the Finance Sector Union attended the two-day conference in Melbourne. Credit: Cameron Gooley/NITV News

Ms Watson believes it is crucial that the industry understands “what it takes to create a safe workplace for all workers”.

Present at the conference will be Australian Racial Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman.

The Commissioner will outline the new National Anti-Racism Framework, which is based on extensive community consultations involving more than 1,200 people with experience of racism.

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