‘DISGRACEFUL SLIGHT ON LOCAL COMMUNITY’
WORKERS of an aircraft maintenance company at RAF Valley were allegedly banned from speaking Welsh.
A source revealed that a female training manager with the firm Babcock told employees speaking Welsh that they must stop.
He said Welsh-speaking HR staff visiting her department were “humiliated” by her actions.
The source said: “She promptly informed them that Welsh speaking is not tolerated. I find this act of ignorance a disgraceful slight on the local Welsh-speaking community.
“The workforce is understandably devastated and uncomfortable.”
BAE Systems and its maintenance partner Babcock employ 470 people at the airbase on Anglesey.
A Babcock spokesman said the company strives to treat everyone equally, adding: “At RAF Valley that means that, in the interests of politeness, we ask our colleagues speak English in a business context when there are non-Welsh speaking people present.
“We have not received any complaints about this request, and, indeed, it was discussed and agreed at a union meeting in December 2017.
“There is, however, no desire to stop any person speaking in Welsh during social interaction or, indeed, enacting company business requirements should all involved speak Welsh. We believe that making the most of the differences in our workforce is key to the success of our business.”
Osian Rhys, from language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said if the allegations were true then the company had broken the law.
“It has been illegal since 2011 to stop, or attempt to stop, two individuals from speaking Welsh to each other,” he said. “A company adopting such a policy, which in this case appears to break the law, should not get a single government contract.
“We will be asking the Welsh Language Commissioner to start an investigation into the matter.”
He added: “It’s important for people to realise they have a legal freedom to speak Welsh. Any infringement can be investigated by the commissioner if she receives a complaint, which can be made anonymously.”
Anglesey AM Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “In an area where Welsh is so widely spoken, any manager telling a member of staff ‘Welsh speaking is not tolerated’ would clearly be unacceptable.
“I hope Babcock will give an undertaking to take all complaints seriously, including this one. The company says it wants to ‘treat everyone equally’ – in a bilingual area that has to mean giving equal respect to those two languages.
“It is inevitable that, in a bilingual society, there will be conversations in Welsh in front of non-Welsh speakers – not because those individuals are impolite, but because that is their first language.
“Anglesey has had a very long relationship with the RAF and its suppliers and, like any good relationship, let’s look forward to seeing it flourish, based on mutual respect.”
The MoD and the Unite union have been approached for a comment.