There are very high levels of staff of non-EU origin working in Europe's health services and these staff are often faced with racism. In many cases health sector trade unions have attempted to confront and challenge this racism. This article reports on research that shows that racism (both direct and indirect) is a continuing problem and that some trade unionists deny this and may even reinforce racism. The research consisted of studies in the national public health sectors of Belgium, France, Italy and the UK. The article concludes by examining the possibilities and limitations of trade union-led responses as collective means for confronting the many different forms of racism within the sector.
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