Member Article

Belgian firm says speak Dutch or be fired

A Belgian auto parts supplier has forbidden its workers to speak any language other than Dutch, even during their lunch break, and employees could be fired if they disobey. HP Pelzer is located in the town of Genk in Belgium’s Dutch-speaking Flanders region, where language is a sensitive topic. Locals and politicians are keen to promote the use of Dutch and prevent the encroachment of the country’s other main language, French.

Two staff at HP Pelzer have so far received written warnings out of a workforce of 125 employees, some 70 percent of whom are of foreign origin. Three warnings would lead to a worker being fired.

Geert Vermote, human resources manager of HP Pelzer, told Reuters that the rule had been agreed with the company’s works council and said the “three strikes” rule applied to warnings of any form. He said: “We have people from Italy, India, Poland, Algeria here. It’s to avoid cliques forming here and there. “It’s really nothing other than other rules we have, such as a ban on smoking.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .