You seem certain enough that your views are correct that you appear prepared to enforce them on others, why else would you object to someone else's objection? I can think of a number of "genuine" reasons why someone may object to handling Pork, it may be religious or on health grounds or on the grounds of opposition to farming methods or on the basis of being a strict vegetarian or just being a really big fan of Pinky and Perky. Whatever the reason behind it if a company chooses to accommodate their staff's preferences then that is a matter between the employer and the employees, not the comments section of the Daily Mail
It seems odd that someone who objects to handling certain products would choose to work where they are sold. If the company choose to accommodate the objecting employees preferences, they should not put them on a till where customers could present the items under objection for purchase. I don't see why such a ludicrous state of affairs should not be commented on by the media. That is what they are there to do.
No one has tried to enforce their religious beliefs on you in this situation, employees may or may not have expressed their own views and been accommodated by their employer. Your refusal to accept that a religious (or by extension any other) reason to object to handling part of the portfolio of available products as genuine suggests to me that your belief in the correctness of your views would extend to denying others the right theirs. Or am I wrong and you do in fact accept the right of employers and employees to make whatever working agreements and arrangements as they see fit?
odd but not unthinkable, people's views change with time and circumstance. Agree, pretty much what M&S have said they will do Really? Have you seen the media in this country? They do not comment on the news, they create the news, they distort, obfuscate and conflate stories to get the spin they want to allow them to sell more papers and generate more hits on their websites, being accurate and truthful has very little, if anything, to do with it.
If, for instance, my vegetarian girlfriend worked at said store, would M&S accommodate her if she refused to handle any meat/meat derivative products on the checkout or is it only acceptable if you purport to belong to a religious group? Where does it end? Bleep the bloody bottle through and understand you live and work in the UK and not some Islamic state. If you are that concerned over your religious beliefs then maybe it would be reasonable to actually consider moving to a Country where you would be better suited. Believe what you want to believe by all means but do not expect the rest of us to enjoy having it shoved on us.
Far be it from me to defend anything Pete1950 says as I frequently disagree with him and he is perfectly capable of defending himself , but Shadow, look at the post from him that you commented on. If you look carefully you will see that he cunningly (or not ) put question marks at the end of the sentences which would seem to suggest that rather than him trying to enforce his views on anyone he may have been asking some questions ??????? Aside from that, why would any company deliberately allow staff to operate in a way that is bad for their customers ?
Whether or not they are behaving in a detrimental way to the customers (and it's open to debate if they are) that decision is entirely between M&S and their employees. As a customer you have a right to buy or not to buy from them, as an employer they have the right to agree whatever legal terms of employment they want to. Dennis Bergkamp famously wouldn't fly anywhere which made his participation in European Football tricky, however his employers found ways round it. I reiterate this is a non story blown and distorted out of all recognition by the tabloid press in an effort to increase sales of their grubby little rags and to increase traffic to their sordid websites.
Do these troubled staff also object to handling black pudding ? Dependent on their chosen variant they may also express an aversion to handling shellfish or rabbit.
If you read my post correctly you will see that I have not mentioned M&S or their staff. I simply pointed out the inaccuracies in your comments about a previous post and then I asked why any company would deliberately allow staff to operate in a way that is bad for their customers ? I agree with you that what a private company and its employees arrange is between them but I don't agree that it is a non story just because that well known tabloid the Telegraph has reported it. It could be in the Daily Sport and still be true, why even the Daily Mail gets things right sometimes , the Gruniad has been known to drop a bollock and the BBC stopped mentioning Malala for 5 minutes when Nelson Mandela died, so none of us is perfect.
I would say stocking alcohol but having cashiers that will not sell it would be detrimental to their business.
My dear Shadow, employers and employees can indeed agree whatever working arrangements they like, within the law. Once those arrangements begin to impinge on others, however, they become a subject of legitimate comment. The questions I asked were as follows: A person might object to eating pork themselves, but how can you have a genuine objection to someone else buying pork? Or to passing a package through a checkout? How could trying to impose your religious beliefs on someone else who does not share them ever be "genuine"? I can't help noticing that you have chosen not to attempt an answer to any of those questions. So far. Instead, you have asserted that I am prepared to enforce my views on others, although without explaining any basis for that assertion. So far. I agree with everything you say about how appalling our media are - but that is rather a red herring in this discussion.
I disagree. For a shop assistant in UK to refuse to serve a customer, and purport justify the refusal on the basis of the religious beliefs of the shop assistant (and not be dismissed), is an extraordinary development, almost unprecedented in modern times. It is a major news story, which might have many important implications. If a public debate follows, it will be interesting to see how it develops.
Honestly, who gives a shit if a relgious nobber gets a bit upity. HR need to sort their shit out and get the buyers to stock only turkey ham! Just like those weasel cnuts domino pizza
It is interesting that a shop founded by Jews sells pork at all…. It is also interesting that the Muslims single out pork: surely, as good practising Muslims, they should have nothing to do with any meat that hasn't been killed in a Halal fashion. Whatever. The UK (like much of Europe) does need to decide how much it wants to be recognisably the UK, with traditions and values that have evolved over centuries, or throw all that away and become a multicultural religious hotchpotch. Whilst open-mindedness is a truly great virtue, unlimited relativism isn't. As an atheist, I have little time for people's pathetic little religious beliefs impinging on everyday life. They should do whatever they want in their homes - hey, it's a free country - but elsewhere abide by the prevailing customs of the country they have elected to live in. Do the Muslim staff also require time off to pray several times a day? Do M&S provide prayer mats? And a final question: are there Sharia courts anywhere in the UK, even for adjudicating disputes between Muslims? I rather thought there were (and I don't even read the Mail or visit their website).
