The GMB today called for the leader of the London Borough of Ealing, John Cudmore, to resign following a Court of Appeal decision awarded GMB member, Lakhbir Rihal £44,777 for the racial discrimination he suffered at the Council's hands. It also called on the Commission for Racial Equality to conduct an enquiry into the Council's housing department.

After four years and four court hearings the Court of Appeal has upheld unanimously an Employment Tribunal ruling, which was also unanimous, that the culture in Ealing council's housing department had prevented Mr Rihal from gaining promotion since 1992 because of his race.

Mr Rihal is a Sikh, resident in the UK for many years. He began working for Ealing Council in 1988. Over the years, he has not been promoted but had an excellent work record and reputation. By 1992 he had been appointed Senior Surveyor. Since then Mr Rihal saw his less qualified white colleagues overtake him in promotions and appointments. The Employment Tribunal described this as a "glass ceiling preventing ethnic minority staff progressing into senior management roles".

Statistics produced to the Tribunal showed that in Ealing 40% of the population are from ethnic minorities. In other departments in the Council, senior management teams are typically 25% non-white. But in the housing department only one member of the senior management team was from an ethnic minority.  The Court of Appeal said these statistics revealed "a culture of white elitism" which can exercise a potent influence on individual decision makers, of which they may be faintly aware or not at all.

Nicola Dandridge of Thompsons Solicitors who represented Mr Rihal throughout said, "There are a number of lessons to be learnt from the case.  Firstly, it shows just how difficult it is to win a case of race discrimination. Secondly, it demonstrates how reluctant employers are to acknowledge the existence of race discrimination in their workplace. Thirdly it proves how important membership of a trade union prepared to commit to pursuing race discrimination claims is. To take a race case to the Court of Appeal requires the commitment and funding of a trade union that would be almost impossible for an individual acting on their own."

As noted by the Court of Appeal, "the borough's funds might have been better spent on putting its departmental house in order".

Paul Kenny, GMB Senior Official and member of the TUC General Council said, "It has taken Mr Rihal, with the full support of the GMB, four years and four months to get Ealing Council to act legally. The Leader of the Council, John Cudmore, should do the decent thing and resign. Because the council failed to act they have cost Ealing rate payers hundreds of thousands of pounds. Ealing once had a proud record with the treatment of its employees but in recent years that is no longer the case. The GMB would like to see the CRE conduct an investigation into  race relations in Ealing Council's housing department."

Mr Rihal said, "I am delighted with the outcome of my case and I am proud to be a turban wearing Sikh person.  I would like to thank GMB, Ealing Race Equality, Thompsons Solicitors, my family and colleagues for their help in this very difficult and prolonged struggle for  justice. I look forward to continuing to work with Ealing Council and to receiving the promotion that I am due."