Anti-Nazi cabbie denied compo

Taxi driver Harald Kleiven lived under the Nazis as a child, and considers black shirts an offensive reminder of them. Photo / Tim Cuff

A Nelson cabbie has been denied compensation after being stood down for refusing to wear a uniform that reminded him of a childhood spent under Nazi occupation.

Harald Kleiven took exception to a Nelson Taxi Society policy introduced last year requiring drivers to wear black shirts on duty.

All drivers had until February this year to comply with the dress code. But Mr Kleiven refused, as he considered the shirts an offensive reminder of the fascists who controlled his native Norway during World War II.

"We were always conscious that anyone wearing a black shirt was bad news," he told the Weekend Heraldyesterday.

Norway was occupied by Germany from April 1940 to May 1945.

His father was active in the resistance movement, and as an infant Mr Kleiven had been used to throw German soldiers and Norwegian collaborators off the scent.

Mr Kleiven said he was often left sitting "in soiled underwear" on top of boxes of ammunition, as the Nazis were never keen to have to deal with a smelly, messy infant.

The family were always "very wary" of the Gestapo and secret service, and Mr Kleiven - who moved to New Zealand in 1951 - later vowed never to wear a black shirt again.

But his continued refusal to wear his taxi shirt resulted in him being relieved of his driving duties, prompting the 70-year-old to go to the Employment Relations Authority claiming unjustified dismissal and loss of wages. He also sought a redundancy payment.

He told the authority he considered the shirts an offensive reminder of the "wickedness perpetrated by agents of the Nazi Reich throughout continental Europe".

But his employment action proved futile, as the authority ruled he had not been sacked.

Therefore, it said, "there can be no issue of compensation because there is no evidence to support a personal grievance in the usual way".

The court ruled that Mr Kleiven and his employer should try to reach an agreement "now that the claim for significant compensation is no longer to be considered".

Mr Kleiven told the Herald yesterday that he felt the authority had let him down.

The former public servant said he had been offered two jobs since being stood down in February, and is now working as a school bus driver.

Nelson was a small place, he said, and his disappearance from the taxi business had led to rumours being circulated about why he had been "sacked".

Mr Kleiven said has was not sure if he would return to taxi driving, and he was reluctant to continue his court battle for reinstatement.

"I am not going to spend $8000 to $10,000 to recoup $2000."