Racism is hurting workers and stalling productivity, with unions and the Australian Human Rights Commission joining forces to call for an inquiry.

Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said systemic racism could take form in the lack of recognition of skills for some migrants and forcing some groups to undertake English proficiency tests.

"The person feels diminished, that they're not valued, and it's it really hollows them out," he said.

"Our economy is impacted dramatically in that there's a huge loss in productivity by failing to have people work at the skills, skill levels that they can actually meet.

"It means we continue to have shortages in critical areas where we need skilled workers. It impacts their health and wellbeing of workers."

Australian Council of Trad

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