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http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/exclusive-iga-franchise-employees-told-they-can-t-speak-english-to-each-other-1.1343299
According to the audio they released, seems like they cannot talk to each other in English because it is a "work environment in Quebec". Seems to me a little weird and possibly too far? Just curious what everybody thought about it.
All she wanted was a part-time job, but what a South Shore teenager got was a hard lesson about language in Quebec.
Meaghan Moran, 17, got a job working at an IGA on Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier Blvd. in Saint-Lambert. She was told that she didn't have the right to speak English at the store.
A fluently bilingual Anglophone, she told CTV Montreal she picked up on some language tension one day.
“One of the guys I was working with is English and I knew him and he said, ‘No, talk to me in French because we're not allowed speaking English on the floor,” she said, adding that she quickly heard what her friend and ex-employee Alex Caldwell knew: employees don't feel comfortable speaking English anywhere in the store.
“I was warned by a friend in the lunchroom to watch what I say and keep my English down, because the management didn't like it and she got a warning,” said Caldwell.
That didn’t sit well with Moran.
“It's just about the principle. You should be able to speak whatever you like. I understand if they want to impose (some rules) -- I'm not going to talk to clients in English, I would talk to them in French -- but if I want to talk to my friend on my break in English, I should be allowed,” she said. “It's becoming too restrictive.”
It reminds me when the word "pasta" wasn't allowed on restaurant menus.
Thoughts? Any other countries have similar rules?
Thanks for the inputs
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Quebec does have a language gestapo to enforce francophone as the primary language ... but this is the first ive heard of something like this going so far.
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If this happened anywhere else in Canada, the labour board would probably have something to say about it. Not in Quebec though.
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Sounds load a load of shit to me, and I would refuse to work there.
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Yup, sounds like Quebec. Children at schools and kindergartens are forbidden to speak English.
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Probably just a terrible management, on the floor and during work, I can understand why the management would want the workers speaking french since its the primary language but during lunch breaks..that's stretching it.
Probably an ego problem from the bosses lol
On June 28 2013 10:37 Hier wrote:
Yup, sounds like Quebec. Children at schools and kindergartens are forbidden to speak English.
and that is bullshit btw lol.
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The Quebec language police have been ridiculous since they were established in 1961. They seem to have really stepped it up in the last 4-5 years though.
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I think it's an interesting topic. Both the Quebec government and the nunavut government get to enforce all sorts of weird cultural rules like this.
Technically the official language of Quebec is french, they sort of voted out english. I think also every sign has to be in french, you can't have english alone but you can have french alone, things like that.. And I'm not just talking street signs, I'm talking businesses too. I'm not sure how I feel about it. There's a lot of history in how things turned out there and I'll be honest, back in the day I usually fell asleep in history class.. So I don't know enough about it.
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Montrealer here. Indeed, I am not supposed to have conversations in English with my coworkers during my shifts as the working environment should be in French.
It sucks that I can`t speak comfortably to my manager as she is more fluent in English. Makes no sense but its the law here.
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On June 28 2013 10:39 TheUnderking wrote:
The Quebec language police have been ridiculous since they were established in 1961. They seem to have really stepped it up in the last 4-5 years though.
Well its not that bad apart from the word pasta and banning spoons with the word "moooosic"
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Talk about freedom of speech, Literally.
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Last time I checked Canada was BOTH english and french. If a customer speaks to you in one of the languages, you should respond in that language. No need to inforce rules like this in a business in Canada IMO.
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On June 28 2013 10:43 RedMorning wrote:
Last time I checked Canada was BOTH english and french. If a customer speaks to you in one of the languages, you should respond in that language. No need to inforce rules like this in a business in Canada IMO.
The only officially bi-lingual province is New Brunswick.
As to Quebec: moved there, moved out two years later, will never go back. I was refused jobs because my French had the wrong accent. Yeah.
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I live in Quebec, i'm born french and now can perfectly talk both languauges and I find this languages problems silly as fuck. It's even worse than you guys outside of Quebec may think. Also, mtl is about 50% french and 50% english...
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On June 28 2013 10:42 ShcShc wrote:Show nested quote +On June 28 2013 10:39 TheUnderking wrote:
The Quebec language police have been ridiculous since they were established in 1961. They seem to have really stepped it up in the last 4-5 years though. Well its not that bad apart from the word pasta and banning spoons with the word "moooosic"
Wait... When was the word "pasta" banned? Also, yeah, it's ridiculous to enforce what the employees speak on lunch break. Are employees allowed to leave the store during their lunch breaks? Or are they required to stay there, and bring a lunch in ahead of time?
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Hurry up and separate already.
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Wait, wait...someone clarify this for me.
Quebec is still part of fucking Canada, right?
Am I right, or did that joke of a referendum really turn out with a win for the Yes crowd?
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On June 28 2013 10:46 codonbyte wrote:Show nested quote +On June 28 2013 10:42 ShcShc wrote:On June 28 2013 10:39 TheUnderking wrote:
The Quebec language police have been ridiculous since they were established in 1961. They seem to have really stepped it up in the last 4-5 years though. Well its not that bad apart from the word pasta and banning spoons with the word "moooosic" Wait... When was the word "pasta" banned? Also, yeah, it's ridiculous to enforce what the employees speak on lunch break. Are employees allowed to leave the store during their lunch breaks? Or are they required to stay there, and bring a lunch in ahead of time?
iirc there are no legal restrictions about languages during breaks. This particular manager seems like an extremist more than anything.
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They are your employer. They pay you do do whatever the fuck they like. You do it, or you don't get paid. That's how I feel about this.
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On June 28 2013 10:51 Uncultured wrote:
They are your employer. They pay you do do whatever the fuck they like. You do it, or you don't get paid. That's how I feel about this.
People have rights and stuff.
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EPT
