Cymdeithas yr Iaith expect the travel firm Thomas Cook to very quickly reverse its stand on staff using Welsh during their work. If they do not back down, a major protest will be held at their Bangor shop at 1pm on Friday (15/06).

Hywel Griffiths, Chair of the Welsh Language Society said:"Thomas Cook's ban preventing staff from using Welsh at work is not sustainable. We expect that pressure from customers and public bodies, together with the absurdity of their own situation, will force the company to back down within a matter of days, perhaps even during today. If not, we shall be holding a major protest outside their Bangor branch on Friday.""We expect however that they will have backed down long before then. We will then return to the normal, and totally unacceptable, situation whereby this large private company conducts all its official business and publishes all its material in English only in Wales.""It is a matter of chance only that a customer will find a Welsh-speaking member of staff with whom he or she can discuss their business. That is the only thing that will be changed by the lifting of the ban. We need a full Welsh Language Act to ensure that companies like these provide a full bilingual service."Send your complaints to - customer.relations@thomascook.comThomas Cook bans Welsh - Blog Ordovicius, 08/06/07Spoiling the broth - Blog Gwe, 08/06/07Rheol iaith "gwbl annerbyniol" - BBC Cymru, 10/06/07Thomas Cook Welsh 'ban' concerns - BBC Wales, 10/06/07Travel giant faces race inquiry - Wales on Sunday, 10/06/07Return of the Welsh Knot - the durruti column, 10/06/07Thomas Crook - Clecs Cilgwri, 10/06/07Storm over language ban - Western Mail, 11/06/07Thomas Cook face race enquiry - Blog Ordovicius, 11/06/07Travel agency bans Welsh - Daily Post, 11/06/07