A report produced by the Orange Order claims that talk about GAA games and children’s confirmation ceremonies is akin to workplace discrimination.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that the research, which was conducted over a two-year period, includes statements and responses to Freedom of Information requests from 25 members of the civil service in Northern Ireland.
Speaking to Stephen Nolan of BBC Radio about the report, Grand Secretary of the Orange Lodge, Drew Nelson, said that people within the civil service feel they are being treated unfairly.
He also drew attention to the fact that the 25 members who voiced their opinions were not all members of the Orange Order but from the wider Protestant community.
Some of the complaints made within the report said that there was often talk of GAA on a Monday morning and that this was “unfair” in the workplace.
Other subjects deemed as unsuitable by the members included children’s confirmations and people wearing ashes on their foreheads.
Nelson explained that these issues together meant that many workers felt alienated and that expressing their views could land them in trouble.
He said: “A cold house arises when the ethos of conversation becomes overwhelming emanating from one side of the community.
“Our members are telling me that they would be afraid, they would be ostracised, possibly victimised if they went in on a Monday morning and started talking about an Orange Order parade.
“The Orange Order is considered a similar organisation to the GAA and that’s the difficulty here”.
