More than three-quarters of those that work for the Brussels public transport company MIVB want greater protection against religious, political or ideologic influence exerted on them by colleagues. That’s according to a survey published earlier this week by CAL, a Francophone umbrella group comprising 28 secular, humanist organisations.
Religion & Philosophy
Pressure to convert an issue among Brussels public transport staff
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Of those survey by CAL more than 60% said that they are in favour of a total workplace ban on items of clothing (such as turbans, head scarfs,.) and items of jewellery (such as crucifix broaches and necklaces) that openly display a person’s religious believes. They believe that this such also apply to those that don’t come into contact with members of the public while they are doing their job.
Last summer CAL sent a questionnaire on religious and ideological neutrality to staff that work for the Brussels public transport company. More than 1,300 MIVB employees completed the questionnaire.
The results show that more than 1 in 5 (21.9%) of MIVB staff have at one time had a colleague that tried to convert them to their religion or their philosophical or political beliefs. 28.1% said that they knew at least one colleague that this had happened to.
Three-quarters (75.9%) of those that took part in the survey said that MIVB should create a clear framework with measures to address the issue.
Ban on religious symbols
Although 50.2% of those surveyed say that they don’t have an issue with their colleagues wearing religious symbols (clothing or jewellery), 62.2% said that they are for a companywide ban on such symbols and on symbols that openly display a person’s ideological or philosophical convictions regardless of whether an employee comes into direct contact with the public.
A considerable number of respondents said that they have faced discrimination based on their religion or their political or philosophical convictions.
MIVB says that it won’t comment on the results of the survey but says that the survey is “just one element that is being taken on board to define our (ideological and religious) neutrality policy”.