It has become a classic SOS Racism method of action: the testing. An approach that is both very direct and educational to fight against discrimination, by testing individuals or companies in real conditions. In summer, it is in small groups, bringing together individuals of the same skin color or of the same origin, that the association sends its members to enter a bar or a nightclub, in order to test the reaction of the bouncers. . A method recognized and included in the penal code for 15 years.
A simple scenario
Today, the association delivers the verdict of a telephone test carried out in May, targeting temporary employment agencies in the construction sector. This is one of the sectors where the proportion of foreign workers or workers from minorities is the highest, and therefore where it appears difficult to discriminate. And yet… Of the 69 agencies in Ile-de-France tested, belonging to the nine largest brands in the sector, nearly half agreed to discriminate.
The scenario was simple: pretend to be a fictitious construction company, and say they have instructions. “We explained that we were looking for profiles of a European type only, because there had already been problems with workers from different communities. We wanted to know if it was possible to filter the candidates, ”explains France Inter Sylia, a member of SOS Racisme.
“We didn’t push them. If the answer was no, then we did not insist ”, specifies Marie Mescame responsible for the legal department of SOS Racisme. Natural reactions therefore, and which reveal a real dysfunction. “It is doable, provided that this conversation remains confidential”, or else “it is better not to put it by email”, these are the kind of answers which the members of the team of testing.
Only the Adecco agencies, recently sent back to correctional following a case of ethnic identification 20 years ago, have unanimously refused to practice such discrimination. On the other hand, more than half of the responses were positive at Proman, Ergalis and Morgan Service.