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Brussels Transit Authority Accepts Court Ruling on Headscarf Ban, Pledges Policy Review
Thursday 3 June 2021, by
The management committee of the Société des transports intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB), meeting on Monday evening, decided, after a tight vote, to take note of the recent judgment handed down by the labor court, which considers that the STIB had discriminated against a job applicant wearing a veil because of her religious beliefs.
"The STIB has always been a pioneer in diversity. It is because we want to continue in this direction that the Management Committee has decided not to appeal the order of the labor court despite its imperfections," said the president of the STIB Management Committee, Merlijn Erbuer.
In a press release from the management, the management committee asked the STIB to embark on a participatory process of revising its neutrality policy "to ensure adherence within the company. Ultimately, the goal is to allow the wearing of certain conviction signs in the company, while ensuring that the service provided to the citizen remains neutral and that the freedom of opinion of all is guaranteed in the workplace," reports bx1.be.
The case dates back to December 2015 and January 2016, when a plaintiff, of Muslim faith, wearing the headscarf and looking for a job, had appealed to temporary employment agencies and applied to the STIB. Two unsuccessful attempts since she was informed that the STIB applied a policy of neutrality that does not allow any conviction sign and that she would have to conform to it by removing her headscarf.
Determined to get hired, she thought that transforming her headscarf into a light turban could make her task easier. But once at the job interview, the issue of removing the headscarf was raised: it is prohibited, regardless of how it is worn.
According to the Ligue des droits de l’homme, the STIB denies having excluded this application because of the choice to wear the veil. At the same time, it does not in any way contest practicing an "exclusive neutrality" policy prohibiting all members of its staff from wearing conviction, political, philosophical or religious signs.
The STIB was unable to justify the indirect discrimination based on gender, which became apparent, the court ruled. So far, the Brussels government, which has made no provision on the issue in its general policy statement, has carefully avoided taking up the case despite the controversy.