A postmaster is refusing to serve his customers unless they speak English

Theo S

they should be able to do something like use the internet to help but this is not a question of fairness the guys just saying i cant understand you thats perfectly acceptable

Ruby M

well how can he serve them if he doesn't understand them

Jess

good on him!!
1. he is from sri lanka and rahter than trying to change britian, although he isn't british he is trying to keep the british culture alive.
2. Well, you wouldn't go to sri lanka and expect to be spoken to in English, so fair play to him.
And yes, all immigrants who come here to live should be able to speak English. Do they think we will learn their language(s) for them?

susie x â™¥â™¥â™¥

Good for him, I quite agree.
I was sat in A & E with my son this morning and nobody could understand the nurse who was calling out the patients names...it all got very confusing. You'd think a nurse would be able to speak English.

kimbow82

English is the native language, if you can't speak English we shouldn't have to cater to you. If we went to another country and couldn't speak thier language you know they wouldn't serve us either.

Tres

Well, I get his point why he does this.

And honestly, in my own country, I would wish that foreigners would try to learn our language instead of us trying to learn theirs

Stanley

Yes, they should speak English if they move to England.
If they dont want to speak english, they shouldnt come to the country.
Simple as that^^^

Unless they are tourists, then we should make an acception.

AL G

He is exactly right, and the beauty of him doing this is that he's from Sri Lanka so nobody can claim racism!

Jelly Bean

If they cannot speak English, how the heck is he going to know what they want? That doesn't take too much intelligence to understand.

Crow

Quite right. Its these individual little stands that add up to common sense and reason being re introduced into Britain. The labour party, who's greed and Arrogance caused this problem in the first place, haven't got the guts to put it right. and in their cowardice have left the people them selves to do their dirty work.. i applaud the man. I wish there were more like him, and the sooner we get rid of the gutless labour party, the better.

MR SCEPTICS ALTER EGO

Not joking now my local postmaster is an Indian chap and he told me the other day he is sick and tired of spending half his day with people who do not speak a word of English.

Ello Guv

Seems logical, if they dont speak English how can he know if what he's given them is correct.

Killer Queen

I imagine he is trying to limit the mistakes made from a communication barrier.

scooter

It is but no doubt someone will use the race card. He could try and communicate with them but if he genuinely cannot understand then he has a point. How do other post offices manage though?

Gay Obama on the downlow

Sounds good to me.

Samâ˜®

Fair do's if they dont speak english how is he supposed to know what the want. he has every right

danor

At my doctors clinic, which is predominately Asian due to the area it is in, there are patients who cant speak English trying to explain themselves and the result is often long queue's of people waiting because of them. I say they should have someone who does speak English accompany them or learn the language before coming here

Dafydd

Unless he is multilingual himself, he is unable to serve anyone who does not speak his own language. This is a practical consideration and not one of discrimination.

Scouse

I see where he is coming from and I am glad he is not white because if he was the roof would fall on him from the PC crowd. I notice the article is in the Guardian.

If this happened a little more often I think we would see a great reduction in certain people playing the "me no spika da inklish game"
I have every sympathy for those in a strange country and society not being able to speak any English when they get here but i do expect that to rectify itself as they live here. I feel the same way about Brits who go to live in Fance Italy or Spain who mix only in ex-pat circles

Sweetharttt

Way to go.

Marin Vielli UK

He is quite right even if he is of a foreign race himself , he shouldn't have to have to try to cope with a large number of other languages ,
I know australia and New Zealand had a rule that european migrants had to be articulate in English.even the papuans had Pigeon english.
This also applies in schools as teachers in some areas have to cope with nearly all of a class of children who have no knowledge at all of English because their parents don't speak it ..
My eldest daughter who was very strong on no discrimination as a teacher soon changed her mind when she was presented with 15 children and 5 languages only 2 of whom spoke english .
She got out and went teaching private .

Clive Reborn

Absolutely right. It is ironic that this action hs been taken by a man of Sri Lankan origin; presumably a white person would have been charged with implicit racism. Interestingly, one of the most vocal supporters of English traditions and culture that I am acquainted with is a Chinese Lady. I think many immigrants from the more civilised countries happily acknowledge the cultural rights of the indigenous population; it is the public employees with Internationalist Agendas that are the most serious threat to dear old Blighty.

DebbieP

I used to live in Mexico and if you didn't speak Spanish you were out of luck with any government agency. You either brought an interpreter or you didn't get helped. Period.

Neil T

No - more power to his elbow. As for the race card not being "played" because he is from Sri Lanka - give it time.

nicky119119@ymail.com

problem but he's dong his job , and he has a long day ahead of him , so why bang your head against the wall due to the condition.

Tapsy

I think he is right. I get so tired of " no speak English" but you better believe people know where to sign and ask for benefits. I think it should be law that anyone wanting to live here in the UK should have an understanding of the language and practice it

Cocoa Dusted Love

Its okay if he's never met or spoken to a certain person before in his life. But if its his friends or relatives, or people he has spoken in sri lankan to before, it seems a bit stupid to suddenly decide not to serve them anymore unless they speak english. Many people who speak english refuse to do so to people who they share a language with, because it seems silly. I will not speak to my relatives in english, it feels like I'm putting on a play or something, its really weird.

Julie

well what about all the people who move abroad from the UK you wouldn't like to be on holiday in spain and somone refuses to serve you because you can't speak the language.

Christine

Just likethe ex pats in Spain!!!! It really annoys me when I visit Spain and I see signs up in English asking people to 'tidy up after pets' etc, and before you go on, i'm not talking about package resorts, but places where normal Spanairds live, but where a number of other non Spanish people have bought property.

I agree with your aguement, but next time you go abroad learn their language, or at least attempt it.

laughter_every_day

Damn. I am mute and cannot speak any language. Still, I need his services. I wonder if no language is OK.

Ryan O

Private businesses can discriminate, government cant.

Thats how scholarships can only give money to black/latino/etc..

Besides, if he wants less customers that is his problem..

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