The Sikh Council UK has long campaigned for an increase in Sikh representation at all levels of UK civic society. This requires individual Sikhs to be more proactive in engaging in civic structures but also requires those in positions of patronage to ensure Sikhs…
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Meetings/Events
2nd June 2014 Secretary General of Sikh Council met for an introduction meeting with David Lelliot the
Deputy British High Commissioner …
5th June Members of Sikh Council representative a number of Gurdwaras across UK met with John Thompson
Head of Migration Policy-Home Office from across UK. The meeting was arranged due to ongoing concerns
about the complex application process: high number of refusals for visas for religious worker without
apparent reasons, and ….
6th June 2014 Press Conference and Debate event was held on 30thAnniversary of the Sikh Genocide in
India at Council House, Birmingham, organised by the Indian Sub-Continent Affairs Committee of Sikh
Council UK in association with….
Meetings and Events:
7th May 2014 Meeting with Labour Party frontbench spokesperson regarding safety helmet
amendment to the De-regulation Bill….
8 th May 2014 Members of the Sikh Council UK and the Sikh helpline met with the West
Midlands Strategic Leader on Preventing….
11th May 2014 representatives of the Sikh Council UK attended the grand official opening of
the new site for Gurdwara…..
17th May 2014 Sikh Council UK held its 12th General Assembly in which discussions were
focused on membership renewal and new ……
Sikh Council UK believes everybody has a right to purchase and consume food in accordance with their religious or other beliefs and food should be clearly labelled to allow individuals to make an informed choice.
All foodstuffs using or containing halal meat and any derived products from halal meat should be clearly labelled as halal. Certified halal meat products should be provided and be available for the benefit of the Muslim community where required. All consumers should have the confidence that foodstuffs that are not labelled as halal are in fact halal free. It should be a duty of trading standard officers to enforce effective and clear labelling on all food.
Meetings/Events:
7th April 2014 Vaisakhi reception at 10…
8th April 2014 Vaisakhi reception at Houses …..
20th April 2014 Members of the council attended the AKJ international Samagam at Sri Guru …..
Correspondences:
FCO letter response to SCUK following ….
Guru Nanak Gurdwara Dudley made a request for help in recruiting Granthis for the Gurdwara sahib, the ….
11th March 2014 a representative of Sikh Council UK was invited to join the National Prevent Challenge Panel and attended an initial meeting in Manchester.
18th March 2014 Individuals from Sikh Council UK were invited to attend the Parliamentary launch of ‘Sikhs for Labour’ held at the House of Commons, Westminster.
The Sikh Council UK welcomes publication of an amendment to the Deregulation Bill which will extend the exemption for Turban wearing Sikhs from the requirement to wear safety helmets across workplaces in Great Britain.
It comes after a campaign lasting over a year by the Sikh Council UK to address an anomaly that has led to Sikhs being dismissed from their employment for wearing their Turban.
Secretary General of Sikh Council UK, Gurmel Singh said, “I welcome this news. It will make a real difference to Sikhs in the UK by increasing the number of workplaces that Sikhs can work in whilst maintaining their religiously mandated identity.”
He added, “I am grateful to members of the Sikh Council UK who have worked hard to achieve this milestone over the last year. I am also grateful to all the parliamentarians who have engaged with us on this and helped bring this about.”
The issue of wearing hard hats in place of Turbans has been an ongoing issue for Sikhs since the passing of the Employment Act 1989. In recent times the importance given to Health & Safety legislation by employers has increased and just in the last year Sikh Council UK have dealt with individual cases where Sikhs have been dismissed from longstanding employment solely due to their refusal to remove their turban and wear a hard hat.
In previous announcements the Government has proposed to extend the exemption that already exists in the Employment Act 1989 that allows Sikhs to wear their turbans in place of hard hats on construction sites to now cover all workplaces. However, it is expected there may still be very limited exceptions, such as for specific roles in the emergency services or armed forces.
Construction sites are acknowledged to be one of the most dangerous workplaces but the fact the law does not cover other workplaces where hard hats are commonly worn has always been viewed as an anomaly.
Head of Political Engagement for Sikh Council UK, Gurinder Singh Josan said, “This issue is important for UK Sikhs and is one of the issues we have been raising with Government and opposition politicians for well over a year now. Whilst we will be examining the wording of the amendment very carefully before responding further, we do welcome the progress made.”
End
Notes for Editors
Wording of the amendment can be found at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2013-2014/0162/amend/pbc1621803b.1-2.html
The Sikh Council UK (SCUK) is the largest representative body of Sikhs in the UK. We are recognised as the national advocate for British Sikhs in the United Kingdom and at the European Union.
A delegation of senior members of the Sikh Council UK is currently engaged on an historic visit to India. Notable events of the visit so far:
A delegation of senior members of the Sikh Council UK will today (12March 2014) begin an historic visit to India with an Ardas (prayer) at SriAkal Takhat Sahib, Amritsar.
The visit is being led by Sikh Council UK Secretary General, Gurmel Singh and will last ten days. He is accompanied by senior staff and representatives of Sikh Council UK including Board of Jathedars members. Amongst the delegation of sixteen are representatives of the Sikh Council UK affiliated member organisations including Gurdwaras, Jathebandian and campaign organisations.
During the visit, the Sikh Council UK delegation will hold meetings, press conferences and networking sessions with a cross section of Sikh representatives and society in India including Jathedars, politicians, academics, media and campaigners. The delegation will visit the key locations of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib and Delhi.
A key focus of the visit is the Voluntary Returns Programme being run by Sikh Council UK and the launch of a specially commissioned documentary. Special showings of the documentary will be held across Punjab.