Black waiters banned at white weddings

RACIST COUPLES are giving new meaning to the notion of a white wedding by refusing to let Asian waiters serve them at their wedding receptions. Catering workers from ethnic minorities are being banished to the kitchens, where they are given only the most menial tasks to perform.

Racism has become a significant problem for the catering industry, but those discriminated against too often feel they must stay silent, for fear of losing their jobs, union officials say.

"In some situations it is done quite subtly, but everyone understands what's going on," said Kashmir Bilgan, a regional organiser of the GMB union. "But there was a recent incident in which an Asian waiter was brutally told by the caterer to 'get out the back'. When he asked why, he was told: 'That's what they [the bride and groom] want.'

"Some couples don't want to be served by black or Asian people, so they are left in the background doing menial jobs, such as chopping vegetables and washing pots," she said.

Earlier this year, Iqbal (not his real name) aged 24, was sent to work in the kitchen after a wedding couple objected to him serving their white guests.

"I was extremely hurt when I was told to stay out of sight in the kitchen, but I have a family to support so I have to accept tremendous indignities. Some days I don't feel like going to work because I have to deal with this sort of abuse all the time. I'd like to do something about it but I don't feel I can. The company doesn't recognise the (GMB) union and it's not worth protesting because I will be sacked".

A Commission for Racial Equality spokeswoman condemned the practice as, "shocking and Neanderthal". The Government is tackling the issue by establishing a parliamentary catering sub-committee, headed by the first peer of Bangladeshi origin, Baroness Pola Uddin.

Ms Bilgan is based in Leicester, a city with one of the largest Asian communities in the country. A quarter of the city's population - more than 60,000 people - are Asian. "This is the Cinderella sector. Abusive practices are rife," she said. Catering workers are among the lowest paid in the country. Wages are as low as pounds 1.50 per hour and 12-hour shifts are common.

Aggravating the situation is the widespread use of illegal immigrants who do not officially exist and are not protected by the employment laws. "People are afraid and don't complain," Ms Bilgan said. "Employers hire and fire at will. Racism goes unseen, rights are eroded and wages are kept down. But the workers' attitude is any job is better than no job."

Only a handful of individuals has challenged the status quo. In one of the few cases that made it to a tribunal, Nigerian-born Richard Olufeko proved that Charco's Wine Bar & Restaurant in Chelsea, west London, had discriminated against him on racial grounds after sacking him and replacing him with a white head chef.

The catering sector is relatively unregulated and often unprofessionally run, said Karen Keates, spokeswoman for the Commission for Racial Equality. "Even four and five-star hotels treat ethnic minorities as second and third-class citizens," she said.