3rd Party Remote Call Monitoring Feature

We know that Welsh is one of the Brittonic, or British Celtic languages that is spoken natively in Wales, but did you know that it is also spoken in the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina? Here is something that I did not know until recently, there is a Welsh Language Commissioner and her name is Meri Huws.

You would think that when an employee of a company is attempting to explain a product to an individual that it would be easiest to do so in their native tongue. At least, it seems to me, that there would be less cause for confusion or misunderstanding. I would also believe that this might especially be true when an insurance company is attempting to explain, as they phrase it, a financial product.

This however, does not seem to be the case with a British insurance brokerage called Swinton Insurance. I understand that a lot of companies and not just businesses, but most organizations do not want an individual speaking in a language that everyone cannot understand. However, when you are making an effort to explain a complicated situation, two people speaking their own native language have a better chance of coming to a complete understanding than trying to use words that the other person may or may not fully comprehend.

It appears that since the Welsh Language Measure 2011 came into force, this week marks the first time that the Welsh Language Commissioner has decided to use her power of allowing people the freedom to speak Welsh. The Welsh Language Measure 2011 came into existence after there were protests in 2007 at a Thomas Cook branch in Bangor. Bosses said their staff should not speak to each other in Welsh while at work.

Not surprising, a Swinton spokesman denied the allegation that staff were banned or denied from speaking in Welsh. The spokesman did, however, acknowledge the fact that “when it got to the ‘nitty-gritty’ of talking about financial details, they had to speak in English and would be requested to speak in English. Swinton don’t contravene the Welsh Language Act, don’t ban staff speaking in Welsh to customers: they just insist if someone wants a policy they have to have details explained in English.”

Commissioner Huws made the following comments in her ruling, “Swinton has interfered with an individual’s freedom to undertake a Welsh communication and that this interference is not justified. Consequence of the interference in this instance is that an artificial situation has been created where members of Swinton’s staff are required to speak English with individuals, whom they know to speak Welsh and wish to do so. As an organization conducting its business in Wales Swinton should fully recognize this official status by changing its policy of using the English language alone when discussing financial products in Wales.”

In agreement with Commissioner Huws’ ruling, chair of the Welsh language pressure group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, Robin Farrar said: “We’re very glad the Commissioner has started an inquiry. It seems there are awful problems in the insurance industry and private sector more generally, in terms of stopping staff from speaking Welsh with customers. I hope she makes it completely clear the Welsh language now has official status and companies are breaking the law if they ban individuals from using it with one another. One of the most important powers the Commissioner has is the publicity and the bad name she can give to firms that behave like this.”

While in agreement, a spokesman for Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, Jamie Bevan said “We’re pleased she has come to this conclusion and held an inquiry, but where’s the penalty? Where’s the follow-up? It’s not clear whether she has tried to change the financial regulator’s guidelines that have led to these awful problems either.”

As a follow-up, the Swinton spokesman said “Swinton values all of its customers and staff in Wales and fully supports the freedom of any individual to speak the language of their choice. Starting later this year, Swinton will allow its employees in Wales to discuss financial products with customers in Welsh. Whilst Swinton is disappointed at the extra cost and complexity of running a separate Welsh language call monitoring program, it fully appreciates the importance of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s investigation and advice.”

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. As the spokesman for Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg mentioned, there have been no penalties and as of today, there has been no follow-up to ensure that the Commissioner’s ruling has been acted upon.