The issue of the use of Catalan is sensitive for a large part of Catalan society, which periodically flares up when some cases of discrimination are revealed. The latest episode took place this Thursday after the Platform for Language – an entity that defines itself as the Catalan NGO – denounced the case of the dismissal of a worker from the organic supermarket chain Veritas for the mere fact of speaking in Catalan to some customers. The company has already reacted to the facts and has said that it will open an internal investigation.
According to the organization, the events occurred in the store in Puigcerdà (Girona) last March. The platform’s tweet includes the audio of a conversation between the employee and her immediate manager, in which they allegedly discuss the reasons for her dismissal. The boss informs the worker that they have received complaints for serving customers in Catalan who had addressed the salesperson in Spanish.
She defends herself by emphasizing that, at the time these conversations took place, she did not receive any complaints. “I had no problem,” the woman alleges in the audio to her manager, who adds: “But if all the customers leave happy, even if I answer them in Catalan, they understand me.”
Both also comment on one of the supposed rules of the company: the fact of always addressing them in the language that customers use. However, the employee criticizes that in a similar case but in reverse, in which the client used Catalan, a colleague was not reprimanded for responding in Spanish.
The Platform, which ensures that it is legally advising the affected party after receiving the complaint, indicates in a statement that the events date back to March 31, when the employee received a letter from Veritas informing her that she had not passed the trial period in the company.
According to the complaint, the problems began earlier when the affected woman spoke in Catalan to a co-worker who explicitly asked her not to do so. This led to some internal complaints that ended in a message from the person in charge to the common WhatsApp group with different slogans, namely that “when talking to colleagues, we will use the language that is most comfortable for both parties”, and that “at When serving a customer, you must respond in the same language in which you are expressing yourself”.
It was then that the company, always according to the affected version, wanted to test the employee. In this way, two office workers, external to the Puigcerdà store, went to the store to check on the spot if the employee finally fired was complying with the manager’s order. Both stated that he spoke to them in Catalan although they had addressed them in Spanish, which supposedly led to their dismissal. Or, at least, that is how the manager reveals it to the employee when she later asks for explanations. The worker was prepared because she decided to record the conversation to send it to the Platform for Language.
The case has altered the spirits of many pro-independence sectors, which have pointed to the company. For example, former president Carles Puigdemont has labeled the situation a “very serious violation of fundamental rights” and has aimed higher: “The inaction of the Spanish State in the face of so many violations makes it responsible.” Many users on Twitter have called for a boycott of Veritas, which forced the company to react late this Thursday. In a tweet, Veritas assures that it considers the “situation of the alleged manager” “unacceptable” and promises to investigate and take the necessary measures.
