British Airways is to review its uniform policy and attempt to find a way that symbols of faith can be worn openly by its employees while remaining consistent with its brand, the airline said tonight.
In a move which will be seen as a concession to a Catholic check-in worker who has been fighting for the right to wear a cross necklace to work, Willie Walsh, the airline chief executive, said that it had become clear that its policy would need to change - adding that the criticism of BA as being anti-Christian had been misplaced and unjustified.
Mr Walsh said British Airways staff had suggested the airline allow the wearing of religious symbols as small lapel badges and this will be considered.
Amid threats of customer boycotts over the issue, the about-face by BA came just days after Nadia Ewieda, 55, lost her internal appeal on the matter.
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Miss Eweida, from Twickenham, south west London, has been refusing to return to work at Heathrow airport since being told by her bosses last month that she was not allowed to wear a necklace bearing a cross over her uniform.
She said she had worn the small cross throughout her seven years at BA, and accused the company of religious discrimination.
“I am not politically motivated or minded, I just follow the Biblical truth,” she said.
BA had offered her an alternative, non-uniformed post, in which she would be able to wear her cross openly, but she had turned it down.
The airline said earlier this week that its policy recognised that it was not practical for some religious symbols, such as turbans and hijabs, to be worn underneath the uniform. Personal items of jewellery, including crosses, could be worn, but underneath the uniform.
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Since then, politicians and church leaders have waded into the debate, all causing a massive public relations headache for British Airways.
One of the most vocal critics of BA’s stance has been John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, who appealed to the airline to reconsider, calling its decision “nonsense” and saying it was based on flawed reasoning.
The civil rights group Liberty also said that BA’s policy appeared to be “fundamentally misconceived” and last night, Jack Straw, the leader of the House of Commons, also weighed in, saying that British Airways’ dress code was ‘inexplicable’ and demanded equal treatments for all religions.
Tonight, upon hearing of the change in policy, Miss Eweida said it was “good news” and she had been overwhelmed by the level of support from members of the public and others.
“If they are going to review the policy and allow Christians their place in the workforce then that is a big relief,” she said.
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Meanwhile Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking at a press conference in Rome today, said he regarded it as “absolutely basic” that people of any faith should have the right to display the signs of their faith commitment in public.
“What I find deeply confusing about the present situation is the response of BA, which doesn’t seem to make it clear whether they’re simply talking about regulations concerning a piece of jewellery or whether they are in some sense claiming that the cross is a source of offence,” he said.
“Now if BA is really saying or implying that the wearing of a cross in public is a source of offence, then I regard that as deeply offensive and, in a society where religious liberty and the expression of religious commitment is free, I regard it as something really quite serious.
“If they’re saying that it’s to do with matters of health and safety, I would question whether that is a sensible kind of regulation, whether in fact there really is a problem here, and I would ask them to look very seriously at this, given the enormous reaction of dismay that’s been caused in the Christian community.”
He went on to say that he would be consulting with others in the Church of England about its attitude to BA, in which the church has some financial investment.
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The policy reversal by BA news follows the sacking of a Muslim teaching assistant whose case was dragged into a national debate on the wearing of religious symbols when she refused to remove her veil in the classroom.
Aishah Azmi, 24, of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire was sacked after an internal disciplinary hearing yesterday.