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Amritsar (Punjab) [India]July 6 (ANI): The chairman of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Harjinder Singh Dhami, on Wednesday applauded the Canadian government’s move to rescind the “beardless” mandate, which applies to Sikh security guards who have terminated their services as a result of the policy.
“I appreciate the fact that the Government of Canada was quick to rescind this order. The Government of Canada has always played an important role in the overall development of the Sikh community and Canada as a whole,” Dami said.
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Notably, the Canadian World Sikh Organization has asked the City of Toronto to change its rules requiring all security guards to be clean-shaven.
More than 100 Sikh security guards have lost their jobs on the City of Toronto’s website because rules require them to be clean-shaven so they can wear N95 masks, the Toronto Sun cited the WSO in its report.
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In sheltered settings with suspected or existing COVID-19 outbreaks, contract employees with beards are not suitable for wearing N95 respirators required by public health directives.
The Toronto Sun quoted WSO legal counsel Balpreet Singh as saying that private contractors who hired the guards told them they were complying with city orders, and when the guards were told they could request exemptions based on religious requirements, the company either moved them to a smaller facility. place – pay for the position or fire them instead of giving them another option.
However, the City of Toronto has officially apologised to World Sikh Canada for “any delays” in reinstating the Sikh security guard, who was terminated due to a “no beard” policy.
According to an official statement, starting Tuesday (local time), the city will immediately allow “beard wraps under masks” as a reasonable accommodation option for individuals who hold beards as a creed of faith.
It also requires contracted security service providers to provide accommodation for any Sikh security staff requesting a religious exemption and to reinstate any terminated staff.
The City of Toronto issued a statement in response to the group’s complaint. “Beginning Tuesday, the City of Toronto said it will immediately allow ‘beard cover under a mask’ as a reasonable accommodation option for individuals who have grown a beard as a creed of faith and are required to provide N95 protection within the city’s respirator requirement. “
This includes contracted security guards at city shelter locations. Under-mask beard cover is a method of applying a close-fitting mask to the whiskers that cover the chin and cheeks, and knotted at the top of the head.
Then put the N95 mask on the lid. Also known as the Singh Thattha method, this technique is used by many Sikhs in the medical community and has been found to be very effective in respirator fit testing.
Toronto also apologized to World Sikh Canada for the delay in addressing the issue and securing religious accommodation for security contractors.
The City officially reached out to its contracted security service providers and reiterated its expectation that they will properly accommodate any Sikh security employees who request religious exemptions and immediately reinstate any terminated employees. The City of New York will not accept any contractor who fails to meet religious freedom.
“The City complies with all human rights legislation and requires all contractors to also comply with the City’s Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy (HRAP) and all applicable human rights legislation,” the statement added.
According to the press release, the city has been investigating a complaint from the Canadian World Sikh Organization, which received in June that some of the city’s contracted security service providers did not provide proper accommodation for employees who grew beards for religious reasons.
City officials contacted World Sikh Canada for an update on the under-face beard covering accommodation options, effective immediately.
This accommodation option was proposed by the Canadian World Sikh Organization, and the city expressed its gratitude to the organization for providing this information. New York City has also pledged to hold a follow-up meeting with the group.
Toronto has also communicated its expectations to its security services contractors, including that they provide appropriate housing for their employees. The City has confirmed to its contractors that under-face beard cover is now an option and any affected contracted security guards should be immediately reinstated to these city shelter locations and should be properly compensated for any financial impact.
The City of New York is committed to ensuring its policies are inclusive, please read the press release. “They are regularly assessed to ensure they respect the rights and freedoms of all who work for New York City – whether full-time or part-time employees, or those of contractors,” it added. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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