REDBRIDGE Council has admitted it needs to do more to employ people from ethnic minorities in senior positions.

The news comes following a report from the GMB union, which has placed the authority 23rd out of 33 London boroughs for its proportion of ethnic minorities in the most well paid jobs.

According to the report, just 9.7 per cent of the council's top five per cent of earners are from ethnic minorities.

Yet according to the national census of 2001, 43 per cent of people in Redbridge are from ethnic minorities.

The figures are in stark contrast to neighbouring borough Waltham Forest, where nearly a quarter of top earners are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

A council spokesman said: "Redbridge Council takes pride in being an equal opportunity employer and year on year our workforce representation is increasing.

"We recognise that we need to do more to ensure that the numbers of people from the ethnic minority community is representative at the senior level of the council.

"We take this issue very seriously and we offer our workforce a range of career development opportunities so they can progress in the council or other organisations."

He added: "We treat all employees and applicants fairly and we are working to ensure we continue to deliver high quality services while being representative of the borough’s residents."

Kamaljeet Jandu, GMB national equality and inclusion officer, said: “GMB believes that employers should reflect the make up of local communities in their workforces.

“GMB commend those local councils which have achieved this at the highest pay level in their organisations as a commitment to equality and real progress.

“There are lessons here for employers in the public and private sectors who have acknowledged this and made progress.

“GMB believe that appointments and promotion should be based on merit to achieve this objective.”