Community transport company apologises to woman who was wrongly discouraged from applying for a job because of her race
A white woman was turned away from applying for a job with a London transport company because she isn’t black, a British newspaper has reported this week.
Marion Ryan, a 40-year-old mother from Clapton in East London, is looking to return to work after taking 18 years out to raise her four children, and so approached Hackney Community Transport (HCT) after seeing an advert for a training position as a bus passenger assistant.
However, upon enquiring into the vacancy at the firm’s head quarters, the Londoner was told by a member of staff at the company that she wasn’t eligible for the post as they were looking to fill the vacancy with an individual from a mixed race, Afro-Caribbean, or Asian background.
The mother-of-four spoke of her anger at being turned away on the basis of her ethnicity saying her first thoughts were that she was being unfairly discriminated against.
The Hackney based Transport Company, which aims to provide affordable transport for community causes such as charities and organisations, say Mrs Ryan was given incorrect information, although they do not deny the incident took place. Furthermore, say they have been trying to contact Mrs Ryan to tell her that she is eligible for the post and to apologise for the false information she was given.
The firm has extended its sincerest apologies to Mrs Ryan, although she says it’s too little too late.
