A Tube worker has been caught posting vile racist and anti Muslim messages online. Train engineer Martin Aitken used Facebook to insulted Muslim, Asians and disabled people in a series of offensive posts.

Aitken, who joined London Underground this year, was caught by the Standard following a tip-off and when confronted said: "Oh for f**k's sake – it's going to jeopardise my job."

Aitken began posting the hateful messages online as far back as 2010. One, from March 30 that year, read: "Did you know that in the time it takes to clap your hands, a Pakistani will die somewhere in the world. All together now – 'If your happy and you know it'."

On February 7 this year he wrote: "I just saw a muslim with three lions on his shirt. I f*****g love longleat Safari Park," followed a day later by: "Muslims of Britain. If you obeyed the law, accepted our values, integrated into society, abandoned terrorism, spoke English in public, made more of an effort with personal hygiene, charged the same price in your shops as the rest of the retailers, didn't burn poppies … then we wouldn't hate you … as much."

He also posted a distasteful joke about a disabled child, saying: "Can you spare just £2? Ranji is a 9yr old boy living in Namibia. He has only 1 leg, 1 arm and 1 eye. Each day he has to ride 7 miles along a narrow road on a rusty bike with bent wheels, no brakes and only 1 pedal. If you send me just £2, I will send you the video – it's f*****g hilarious."

In another vile post he penned a "poem" which read: "I know a p**i whose name is Jim. I love 2 lob tomatoes at him. tomatoes are soft & don't hurt the skin, but these fuckers do cos theyre stil (sic) in the tin..."

A co-worker said: "The content posted on Mr Aitken's Facebook timeline appears to demonstrate a deep seated hatred for anyone different to himself. He is using social networking sites to promote racism and his personal hatred of Muslims."

Aitken, who commutes to London weekly from Exeter, apologised for the "stupid" comments and insisted he was not a bigot because "my best mate is Jamaican".

He said he had now shut down his Facebook profile and added: "It is stupid. I did not see the offence it could have caused. I overlooked the fact I am offending people and I apologise."

He insisted he did not hate Muslims or was a racist, and said: "I was being stupid. I work at London Underground and there are a lot of people from all different walks of life and I get on well with all of them. "My best mate is Jamaican."

A spokesman for Transport For London said it was launching an investigation into the posts.

He said: "TfL expects its staff to adhere to the highest possible standards and will not tolerate bigoted and abusive behaviour from staff. The content of these posts has been brought to our attention and, in line with TfL's employment policies and London Underground's guidelines for the use of social media, we will be investigating this issue fully."

Evening Standard, 19 February 2013

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A Belgian branch of Dutch department store Hema was wrong to sack a woman worker for wearing a headscarf, a Belgian industrial tribunal ruled on Wednesday.

The woman had worked for the store in Genk for two months wearing a headscarf but was then sacked for refusing to remove it after complaints from customers.

The tribunal ordered Hema to pay the 21-year-old woman six month's salary – €9,000 – in compensation.

The company has since drawn up formal clothing requirements for its Belgian stores, news agency ANP said.

Dutch News, 2 January 2013

See also KUNA, 2 January 2013

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A former sales assistant at Dunnes Stores has claimed she wanted to work her rostered hours but could not do so as she was not permitted to wear a hijab at work.

Loreta Tavoraite (35) of Parknamore, Ballincollig, Co Cork, has brought a case for unfair dismissal against Dunnes Stores (head office) at South Great Georges Street, Dublin. Ms Tavoraite, who is originally from Lithuania, began working at Dunnes Stores, Ballincollig, Co Cork on July 26th, 2007.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal heard that Ms Tavoraite subsequently converted to Islam and wanted to wear a hijab, a headscarf which covers the hair, but which leaves the face exposed, at work. Staff at Dunnes Stores wear a standard uniform of a blouse, trousers or a skirt, and a type of cardigan, and no alteration to the style of the uniform is allowed, the tribunal heard.

In October 2010 Ms Tavoraite met with store manager at the Ballincollig store Bill Farrell and the human resources manager about wearing the hijab. She explained that her religion involved covering her head with a hat or scarf while in public, including at work, but that she had been told that she could not wear the scarf to work.

Mr Farrell told Ms Tavoraite that her religion was her own business and her business only. He said the uniform was their image as a company and she had to wear the standard uniform as required by the company.

There were numerous subsequent meetings, including disciplinary meetings, and correspondence between management at Dunnes Stores and Ms Tavoraite in an effort to resolve the impasse and Ms Tavoraite was repeatedly told by the company that they wanted her to return to work. Ms Tavoraite never returned to work.

At a meeting in early November she was informed that a basic part of her contract was that she would attend work and that if she did not come to work they would have to consider her contract and that it might be terminated. She was dismissed from her position on November 6th, 2010. Ms Tavoraite's solicitor Patrick Horan said his client would say that she wanted to work her hours, "but was told you can't come to work wearing a hijab ... so she couldn't come into work".

The solicitor said: "As far as she was concerned, being a devout Muslim you must wear a hijab. It's an obligation," said Mr Horan. "Her view was: I'm ready to work. I want to work, but because of my religion I have to wear a hijab."

Mr Farrell said Ms Tavoraite was a valued employee and he had said he wanted her to come back to work at numerous meetings. He told the tribunal that when an employee is wearing something which is not part of the uniform they are not allowed to work. "It has to be controlled, otherwise it's a free for all," he said.

Asked by Mr Horan what would happen if a member of staff came into work wearing a chain and cross, Mr Farrell said he had never come across it.

Ms Tavoraite will give evidence when the tribunal resumes the hearing in November.

Irish Times, 12 September 2012

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In the last decade, 6,600 Muslims have filed complaints with the federal government, claiming that their employers discriminated against them because of their beliefs.

But Ashraf Sarandah's allegations against the United Parcel Service of America go way beyond the typical religious discrimination charges, according to his lawyers.

Ashraf claims that his boss at UPS called him "a monkey" over instant messenger, because of the color of his skin. And another manager allegedly followed him into the bathroom, mocked him for urinating sitting down, as Ashraf's particular beliefs dictate, and gave him a demonstration in "how we urinate in this country."

On Tuesday, Sarandah's lawyers announced that they were filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accusing UPS of discriminating against Ashraf because of his race, religion and national origin.

Sarandah, who is a Palestinian Muslim, got a job as an industrial engineer planner with UPS in Orlando, Fla., at the end of 2004. He claims that the harassment began soon after.

AOL, 10 July 2012

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A high-flying businessman was hauled before the court for a tirade of religious abuse at a Muslim immigration official waiting to check his passport.

Anthony Holt, 65, had become wound up after reading an article in the Daily Mail about the "victimisation of Christianity" on a flight into Manchester. When he landed, the retired consultant refused to go through a desk where Sayima Mohammed was on duty.

He astonished witnesses by pointing at her and saying: "I don't want to be seen by that. I don't want to be seen by any Muslim in a position of authority. I want to be seen by someone who's English. This is England. This is my country. I'm not into all this Islam."

As Ms Mohammed burst into tears, her colleagues refused to check Mr Holt's documents and ordered him to calm down. When police arrived, Holt turned his attention to a cop, saying: "That's Islam. I'm not going to that. This is my country." The 15-minute row only ended when he was arrested.

During a police interview Holt claimed the abuse was not "personal". He said: "The problem I have is with Islam as a whole. It's threat to the British population and the British way of life. I wanted to take a stand."

Holt, of Railway Road, Urmston, pleaded guilty to using religiously aggravated threatening words or behaviour. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation and a £145 fine.

Trafford magistrates heard he had worked as a consultant advising lawyers about the purchase of railway stock until his retirement earlier this month.

The court heard the outburst took place in front of a queue of witnesses, including children. In a statement to police, Ms Mohammed said: "I felt threatened, shocked and humiliated to be treated in that manner for no apparent reason."

Praveen Sethi, defending, said Holt had been flying into Manchester at the end of "a stressful week". He had been reading an article in the Mail in which the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey spoke of the "victimisation of Christians and Christianity".

Mr Sethi said: "He took his frustrations out on the first person he saw. Mr Holt is a man of previous good character. He's not a racist nor against any religion what-so-ever, which makes it even more surprising he carried out this act."

The court heard Holt suffered from a neurological disorder which meant he could "explode" at any time.

Holt told magistrates his comments were not directed to Ms Mohammed, but at the fact she was wearing a scarf. He said: "I have pleaded guilty because I am. It's totally out of character for me. I deeply regret it and deeply regret any offence or distress I caused the lady. Nothing I said was directed to her personally."

Geoff Homer, chairman of the bench, told Holt: "You have said to this court this is a one off incident and we accept that."

Manchester Evening News, 2 June 2012

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