TWENTY COUNCIL workers in Co Derry are refusing to wear uniforms bearing a logo written in both Irish and English.
Twenty Limavady Borough Council groundsmen – 10 per cent of the council workforce – are objecting to the uniforms, claiming they would not feel comfortable bearing a logo in Irish while working in certain areas.
The council has ordered an equality impact assessment which will identify the logo’s potential impact on the council’s residents and staff. The bilingual logo was adopted seven years ago, and already appears on official council stationery and vehicles. New uniforms with the logo were ordered last December.
Limavady councillor Alan Robinson (DUP) yesterday said: “The personnel who raised the concerns were quite right. Further than that, ratepayers of the borough will now have to pick up the tab.”
However, Sinn Féin councillor Anne Brolly insisted that Irish was a “language for everyone” and “should not be politicised”.
“The logo will not make a unionist any less British,” she said.