Textile and catering bosses in Bradford were today urged to improve training for black and Asian employees to help them catch up with their white colleagues' pay.

Tariq Sadiq, from the Asian Trades Link in Bradford, said employers needed to help their staff "upskill" to improve their chances of promotion and gain better levels of pay.

The move came after a survey showed that Asian and black workers earned less pay than their white counterparts across the country.

But Mr Sadiq added that it was also the workers' responsibility to improve their own situations and upgrade their skill levels through college courses.

His comments came after the new research showed that black and Asian male workers earned an average of £235 a week compared with £332 for white men, a pay gap of £97.

The difference was even greater for Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers, whose pay averages £182 a week, a gap of £150.

Black and Asian women were found to earn £7 a week more than white women.

Pakistani and Bangladeshi women remained at the bottom of the pay league, earning an average of £34 a week less than white women employees.

The report was launched to coincide with the TUC Black Workers' Conference in Southport today, which was also discussing workplace racism.

The TUC has called for race relations laws to be extended to tackle low pay among black and Asian workers.

Many black and Asian workers were "trapped" in low paid jobs in poorly paid sectors such as textiles, the TUC said.

But Mr Sadiq said black and Asian high-achievers should not be overshadowed.

"The problem with these reports is that they often focus on the worst areas in these communities," he said.

"Within the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities there are many families that are pushing their children to succeed and for every example that fails there are many more who don't."

Mike Cartwright from the Bradford Chamber of Commerce said the report should be received with caution.

"This report suggest deliberate discrimination and I don't think that is the case in Bradford."

l The needs of Bradford's African and Afro-Caribbean population must be placed higher on the health agenda, says a new report.

Medical experts claim the minority group is being neglected despite the fact they suffer poorer levels of health.

Called Time for Action, the study was commissioned after the district's Black Health Forum wrote to health chiefs saying their needs were not being met.