Pay Differentials, Discrimination and Worker Grievances.

We examine the relationship between race and sex differentials in pay and the occurrence of grievance and Employment Tribunal actions by workers Anti-discrimination policy relies mainly on workers to initiate proceedings, so this relationship is vital for the effectiveness of policy. There is a concern that vulnerable groups are often reluctant to take action. Using an econometric earnings model that allows for race- and gender-specific employer effects, we find little evidence from British WERS98 data of any association between pay differentials and the grievance process, suggesting that grievance and tribunal procedures are not very effective anti-discrimination instruments.