Train conductor faces formal complaint for saying 'bonjour' in Flanders
A train conductor for Belgian railway operator SNCB has been the subject of a formal complaint for saying "good morning" to passengers in both Dutch and French near Vilvoorde station just outside of Brussels, in Flanders. According to official langua
A train conductor for Belgian railway operator SNCB has been the subject of a formal complaint for saying "good morning" to passengers in both Dutch and French near Vilvoorde station just outside of Brussels, in Flanders.
According to official language rules, communication to passengers must be done only in Dutch while in Flanders, and only in French in Wallonia, although SNCB is calling for more flexibility in the wake of the complaint made to the Permanent Commission for Language Supervision.
Currently, conductors can only use both Dutch and French once a train officially crosses the "language border" and enters the bilingual Brussels region.
Only on trains bound for Brussels Airport can conductors communicate in Belgium's three national languages - French, Dutch and German - and also in English.
The conductor who was the subject of the complaint, Ilyass Alba, addressed the matter on social media.
“There is a difference between entering a compartment and greeting all the passengers with a "goeiemorgen-bonjour" and making an announcement in Dutch and French,” Alba wrote.
“An announcement in French at Vilvoorde is prohibited if it is not also made in Dutch, German and English. On the other hand, greeting all passengers during the check-in with a simple 'goeiemorgen-bonjour' is not prohibited. That's what I did.”
SNCB defended its employee, saying there will be no further legal consequences and dismissal is not being considered.
“After all, we ask every conductor to be flexible with language legislation, so that they can concentrate on their job first and foremost,” SNCB said. “That's what he's done.”
SNCB also noted that in the event of a safety announcement, the attendant can make announcements in different languages in order to be understood by the majority of passengers.
Outgoing federal mobility minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) has previously called for a re-examination of the rules, saying “its strict, blind application, as regularly demanded by Vlaams Belang and N-VA, makes little sense today”.
But CD&V president Sammy Mahdi calls proposals for change “extremely disrespectful to our Dutch language and a particularly bad signal” and said his party would not allow any relaxation.
“I have all sympathy for the train conductor who undoubtedly meant his greeting well, but it is important that we as a government do not simply jettison our language legislation,” said Mahdi, himself a Vilvoorde resident.
"If even our government and our public services no longer consider it important to speak Dutch and respect language balances in our country, how can we ever expect people who come to work or live in Flanders to learn our language and respect it?"
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