Labour Minister Ove Hygum insisted on getting an explanation, his office said, after it emerged that several foodstore chains were refusing to hire cashiers who wear traditional Islamic headscarves.

Ebbe Lundgard, a former culture minister who runs the FDB supermarket chain, Denmark's biggest, defended the policy, saying: ``We also do not hire men with long hair or women with nose rings.'' FDB does have women in headscarves in its offices and warehouses, ``but we do not accept distinctive characteristics among our employees who are in direct contact with customers'', he said.

-- Agence France Presse