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people who are long standing immigrants and those who are second and third generation children of
immigrants, as well as members of their families who have more recently come to England to join
them. Among these are people of middle socio-economic groups such as business men, shopkeepers,
restaurateurs and other people of substance. A number too do not originate from the Commonwealth.
At the time of the amalgamation, and indeed throughout the year, I was unable to make more than
a scant survey of the area which is the "new" City of Westminster as I was already fully extended
by the demands of the "old" Paddington area. This meant that I was too fully occupied to foster
relationships with all of the people I should have liked, or to take sufficient time to absorb the atmosphere,
as I had been able to do when I joined the staff of the Paddington Borough Council. Therefore,
in this Report I do not feel qualified to comment in any detail on problems that may exist among
non-English people in the area which was new to me.
Nevertheless, through my membership of Regional and National Committees and work in the
past I was already known to many people of the statutory and voluntary organizations in the district,
and I found that others became aware of my existence and proceeded to get in touch, although the
greater proportion of problems with which I was able to deal were still in relation to people or
situations in the Paddington area.
It is possible that the City of Westminster contains more employers of labour than any other London
Borough, including as it does the various Government Departments and large commercial companies'
headquarters, departmental stores and fashion houses, restaurants and entertainment industries as
well as thousands of employers of small groups of labour, such as owners of small shops and cafes.
Immigrants who are concentrated in the dormitory areas of London, including Paddington help
considerably to feed the employment fields described.
It is not surprising, therefore, that since I have had the additional responsibility for the new borough,
referrals from employers have dramatically increased. Several employers have referred workers
who have problems with which it is felt that I can assist, and others have themselves approached me
for guidance over difficulties which have sometimes arisen in their organizations involving nonEnglish
people, including misunderstandings between the different ethnic groups.
As most people spend over half their waking lives at work, the attitude of immigrant workers
towards indigenous workers, and the indigenous peoples towards them, will be conditioned to a
large extent by what happens while at work. This surely means that it is in the work environment
that the foundation of mutual understanding can sometimes best be fostered. It is in this area too
that resentments between the two groups are sometimes evident, especially if there is any question of
changes or retrenchment.
The importance of enlisting the co-operation of employers in playing a part in the overall task of
fully integrating non-English people into the community cannot be underestimated, and I have therefore
welcomed approaches made to me by employers as a useful development of my work, particularly
as it is not always easy to persuade employers to discuss their experiences (or difficulties if any) in
inducting and employing overseas workers.
There are many organizations, large and small, who employ immigrant workers very successfully
and who take positive steps to help them with problems of adaptation. However, it must also be
admitted that prejudice exists to a greater or lesser extent in many employment fields and that there
are employers who are unwilling or reluctant to engage coloured workers—a fact sometimes underlined
by difficulties experienced in trying to place a coloured young person in employment who has
received all of his/her education in this country. There are other employers who employ coloured
workers only because white ones are not available.
Organizations equipped with highly skilled personnel departments are often better able to accept
the innovation of migrant workers and deal with repercussions which may result. However, there
are others who find themselves in some difficulty in handling a situation arising from problems of
communication, cultural differences, or resentments of indigenous employees. It is wrong to attribute
all problems of this kind to prejudiced management. I am naturally sickened when I am told that
"it is the other workers who will not accept a coloured worker"—but it has to be acknowledged that
there are fields of employment where employers can be very much at the mercy of prejudiced workers
on this particular issue.
Prejudice in the employment field frequently originates from the floor rather than the top. Clear
cut non-discriminatory managerial policy may be reflected in the attitudes of workers. Therefore, I
am encouraged when I have the opportunity to talk to the workers concerned when difficulties arise
as I believe this can be particularly helpful.