A policy requiring staff to speak English in the office has British High Commission staff in a stew.
Multiple written warnings have been issued to staff of the commission’s visa arm, the UK Border Agency (UKBA), in recent months, with threats of formal disciplinary procedures if speaking in other languages does not cease.
“If they find you speaking in your own language, a manager will come to you and tell you to please stop speaking that language,” said an employee.
The employee said although they understood the need to work in English, policing of languages created an intimidating, isolating environment.
An anonymous e-mail earlier this year claiming there had been a security breach led to one-on-one talks with each of the UKBA’s 65 employees. This led to the adoption of the commission’s language policy.
But staff say it feels unnatural to speak to each other in English when engaged in casual conversation, and they are often interrupted and questioned when talking.
Pan South African Language Board spokesman Sibusiso Nkosi said they received complaints about language policies occasionally and would contact the Department of Foreign Affairs to find out if they would have any jurisdiction to intervene.
”For many members of staff, English is not the first language, but at the same time the working language in the office is English and should be used at all times,” said Gary Benham, head of communications at the British High Commission in Pretoria.
He said if staff were socialising during a lunch hour, it was acceptable to speak in a common tongue.
“If another member of staff then joins the conversation, or is in the same room as you but does not speak that language, then there is a danger of making that person feel excluded, and it is polite to switch to a common language of those present,” Benham said.
The Star