The Generalitat proposes prayer rooms in companies so that Muslims can pray.
An official guide recommends providing spaces for prayer, adapting schedules and allowing Muslim religious beliefs to shape the organisation of work.
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The Generalitat of Catalonia promotes public administrations and companies adapting their operations to religious requirements, under the banner of diversity, interculturality and religious freedom. The discourse includes Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and other faiths. But when the workplace adaptations are put into practice, The 80% respond directly to practices of Islam.. The remaining recommendations mainly concern Judaism and Adventism with regard to Sabbath rest, and Sikhism with regard to the wearing of the turban.
To adapt the organisation of work to religious needs, the Generalitat has the Guide to respecting freedom of religion and conscience in employment relations. The document recommends providing rooms for prayer, allowing breaks for prayer, adjusting schedules during Ramadan, and ensuring that certain employees are not required to handle food that is forbidden by their beliefs.. They are measures that the Generalitat presents as good practices for businesses and public administrations, although they are not generally mandatory.
The other leg of the Administration's religious adaptation is The training of civil servants. The Generalitat organises courses because the officials Adapting the treatment of citizens according to their religious beliefs. Training sessions reach staff in customer service, education, healthcare or social services. The next session, scheduled for 23 November, will go beyond caring for citizens: It will address the participation of religious organisations in the definition of public policies..
Union room, for coffee, for breastfeeding… and for praying?
The page 67 of the Generalitat's religious guide proposes that Companies and public administrations should provide a room for workers to pray.. To make it more banal, compare prayer rooms with spaces intended for having coffee, resting, breastfeeding or carrying out trade union activities.
The proposal is reminiscent of what is already happening in Canada: A parliamentary inquiry has identified 1000 prayer rooms Muslim in federal government buildings. These spaces were presented as rooms for silence, meditation, rest or private calls. In a short time, Muslim officials have made them their own because no one was using them. In practice, they have ended up being used as Muslim oratories, with prayer mats, copies of the Qur'an and indications of the direction of Mecca.
In Catalonia, the Generalitat does not hide the religious purpose behind labels such as «silent rooms», «meditation» or «rest»: It directly proposes enabling rooms for prayer in workplaces. It presents it as a general need for religious diversity, but the examples in the guide specifically highlight Islam. It discusses Muslim prayers, providing breaks during the working day and offering spaces in which to practise them. In this section, it does not identify any equivalent demands from Christians, Jews or other denominations. The proposal is for all religions, but the specific example used by the Generalitat is Muslim.
Modify schedules and tasks during Ramadan
The Generalitat also proposes Adapt the organisation of work for Muslims observing Ramadan.. On page 68 of the guide it recommends bringing the start of the working day forward, establishing continuous schedules, accumulating tasks in other periods of the year and facilitating shift exchanges between Muslim and non-Muslim workers. It also proposes special permission to take breaks and refresh oneself during the fast.
The recommendations extend to the workers' duties. The guide recommends temporarily avoiding physical exertion and working at height, and taking extra care with heavy machinery. The Generalitat justifies these adaptations to prevent the risks associated with fasting, but the result is that a voluntary religious practice can lead to changes in schedules and in the allocation of tasks. The document also recommends taking into account Muslims who wish to spend Ramadan with their families when organising holidays.
The Generalitat wraps everything up in the discourse of «religious diversity», but the measures in this section have one clear target: Muslim workers. It is no longer limited to asking for workers' religion to be respected: It recommends modifying the way companies operate so that they conform to its religious requirements. No other religion receives similar treatment: Islam is the only one for which the guide proposes reorganising schedules, shifts and tasks. And for an entire month.
Don't touch the pork!
The Generalitat also proposes Adapting workers' tasks to the dietary prohibitions of religions. Here Islam is joined by Judaism. The guide recommends that companies avoid assigning employees who follow a religion that has issues with pork to a supermarket's butchery.
The Generalitat assumes in this guide that Islam forbids touching pork, even though what the Qur'an states is that it cannot be eaten.. The refusal to handle, cook, transport or sit at a table where pork is present stems from religious interpretations. Despite disputes among Islamic jurists on this point, The Generalitat accepts the most radical version. and recommends that companies adapt workers' tasks to avoid any physical contact with pork. This is how A controversial religious interpretation ends up as an official recommendation. on how a company should operate.
The only labour dispute over pork covered by the guide is that of a Muslim worker who in 1997 refused to handle and sell pork and alcohol.. The High Court of Justice of Madrid ruled against her. The Generalitat cites this judgment, but recommends that companies avoid assigning these tasks to workers who refuse them on religious grounds. The paradox is that the Generalitat promotes this as a best practice. that which the court did not recognise as a right and which the Qur'an does not establish as a prohibition.
Expressing religious diversity through dress
The Generalitat wants that that religion be visible in the appearance of officials. On page 99 of the guide, He considers it enriching that the appearance of civil servants reflects the religious diversity of Catalonia.. According to the document, This exhibition would help to incorporate members of religious minorities into the Administration. and to win the trust of citizens who share these beliefs. Thus, what begins as a matter of individual freedom ends up as a recommendation that the Administration display religious diversity through its employees.
Islam also features prominently in this section because of its use of the hijab. The guide analyses several court judgments (pages 76–78), which recognise the right of Muslim women workers to wear the veil. These cases serve the Generalitat to Remember that companies cannot prohibit the hijab arbitrarily.
The same guide recognises that this attire may compromise the Administration's religious neutrality. On page 98, it recommends that teachers in public schools be cautious about religious symbols. But on the following page it says that displaying them is enriching. The paradox is that what is presented as a potential problem of neutrality in classrooms becomes a desirable display of diversity in other public settings.
You can try to convince your colleagues.
The guide also addresses the possibility of spreading religious ideas among colleagues. On page 78, it recognises this right even when seeking to persuade others to join a denomination. On page 79, it specifies that workers may do so during breaks and that They do not need to obtain the prior consent of their peers.. They should only stop when the other party clearly indicates that they do not wish to continue discussing religion. The document prohibits devoting actual working time to it and warns that persistence may constitute harassment.
The result of all this is that religious beliefs cease to be a personal matter of workers and become a criterion that shapes the organisation and operation of public services.. The Generalitat proposes that companies and public administrations adapt their operations to religious practices that until now have not been part of the usual organisation of work. They are not yet obligations, but recommendations underpinned by diversity and religious freedom.
↓ Download the Generalitat guide (PDF)
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