Sikh Tory councillor's 'Islamophobic' rant at Dyson engineer sparks outrage

By S Neeraj Krishna

LABOUR groups and Muslim organisations have called for the removal of a Sikh Tory councillor of Harrow over his "Islamophobic" rant at an Iranian engineer.

Zeinab Alipourbabie, 39, who had worked on Sir James Dyson’s £500-million electric car venture in Wiltshire, last week won claims over “religious discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal” after alleging that Kamaljith Chana told her “he did not like Muslims”.

She had quit the project in 2018 following “harassment and bullying” Kamaljit Chana, who used to be a senior project manager at Dyson Automotive.

The engineer, who hails from a modest family in Iran, told the Bristol employment tribunal that Chana had hounded her with comments such as “Muslims are violent”, the Times reported on Sunday (20).

Ruling in favour of Alipourbabaie, the tribunal noted that Chana subjected her to harassment and unfair criticism, and impeded her professional growth at Dyson Automotive, owned by Britain’s richest man.

“He [Chana] asked if she was a Muslim and she replied that she came from a Muslim family... he said that he did not like Muslims,” the tribunal said in its judgment.

“He said they are violent, talked about terrorist attacks, and repeated that he did not like Muslims and they are violent.

“Mr Chana talked about 9/11 and said his family did not take flights anymore because they were scared…. He went on to say Pakistani men are grooming our girls.

“She goes on to say that she then left the meeting as she felt uncomfortable and shocked.”

Alipourbabaie said last week that the harassment made a “huge impact” on her life.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she added. “It was like getting hit by a car or having an accident. Something I had no control over but hit me hard.”

Chana, who is reportedly considering an appeal, told the tribunal that he had “never met someone from Iran before”.

“So, I commented that it was interesting and Iran seemed to be in the news a lot,” he added. “My comments were not about whole community groups. This would be entirely unjust.”

Though Chana denied the allegations, the tribunal said in its judgment that Alipourbabaie’s testimony was “compelling and persuasive”.

It also ruled that Alipourbabaie’s resignation was a case of “constructive unfair dismissal”, noting that her line manager’s repeated recommendations had been ignored.

Dyson’s promotion process, the tribunal said, “lacks transparency” and had “no formal system for assessing” workers.

Alipourbabaie said she had to frantically look for a new job after leaving Dyson as her visa would have expired in eight weeks if she didn’t find a new employer.

“I felt vulnerable because of that visa situation, because immigrants like me, we’re invited to this country but we have no friends, no family, we have to start from scratch,” said Alipourbabaie, who now works with a top automotive company.

“No one should have to endure the pain of harassment and discrimination that I suffered while working at Dyson as result actions of Kamaljit Chana, a man who, as the tribunal noted, is a councillor.

“As such he has a public duty not to hold discriminatory views but should set an example being fair minded and tolerant of all religions.”

Harrow council leader, Graham Henson, said: “As a resident of Harrow, and leader of one of the most diverse Boroughs in London, I was utterly appalled to read the article highlighting the disgusting Islamophobic comments made by a Harrow Conservative councillor, Kamaljit Chana.

“I and the entire Labour Group believe that Islamophobia or any other form of discrimination has no place in Harrow.”

The Muslim Forum of Middlesex sought “immediate action to remove this individual [Chana] from his post”.

“The Muslim community of Harrow will not stand for apathy in the face of Islamophobia,” it said.

“At a time when Islamophobia is increasing at an extraordinary pace, we are concerned that the Conservative Party in Harrow is not adopting a zero-tolerance approach.

“This is unacceptable.

“This conduct is all the more worrisome given that Harrow is one of the most diverse boroughs in the country, which should be celebrated.”

The Conservative Party, meanwhile, said it would investigate the case if a complaint was raised.

Miqdaad Versi, media director Muslim Council of Britain, highlighted in a tweet that the party was delaying action.

Notably, an internal probe at Dyson Automotive, too, had concluded that Chana “harassed and bullied” her. He, however, was left off with a “final written warning”.

The company told the Times it “demanded a workplace free of discrimination, intimidation and harassment; it did not tolerate any form of unacceptable behaviour and treated any such allegations very seriously”.

“These allegations were investigated fully and disciplinary action was taken against Kamaljit Chana who was found to have acted inappropriately,” it added. “We have since launched mandatory ‘respect’ training for all our people.”

Chana eventually left the job as Dyson scrapped the "fantastic electric car" project which was evaluated to be not "commercially viable" in October last year.

A relieved Alipourbabaie said on Friday said “it’s good that I’m in a good country with a justice system that I trust”.

“Yes, it’s terrible what Kam [Chana] did to me… it’s terrible what HR did to me,” she added.

Her lawyer, Leila Moran, said Alipourbabaie “fought bravely to bring this case to tribunal and the judgment is a powerful moral victory”.

“She was put in an awful position in which she endured harassment and discrimination because of her religion over a protracted period of time. In the end she had no option but to resign,” the Leigh Day solicitor added.

“This case should serve as a warning to other companies that all employees must be treated absolutely fairly and that any harassment and discrimination on grounds of religion will not be tolerated by the employment tribunal.”