Promoter at pop-up booth allegedly told to remove hijab by Tangs department store before she could work

Promoter at pop-up booth allegedly told to remove hijab by Tangs department store before she could work
PHOTO: Straits Times File, Screengrab/Facebook

[UPDATE: Aug 21]

All customer-facing front line staff at Tangs will be allowed to wear religious headgear starting today (Aug 21), as their corporate office and back-of-house colleagues do.

When contacted by AsiaOne, a Tangs spokesperson said they have made an "immediate change to ensure a policy that uniformly respects all our employees and our brand partners."

The change in policy follows criticism from several Malay-Muslim political office holders, as well as President Halimah Yacob, who said that "Discrimination of any form and against anyone has no place at all in our society."

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The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practises (Tafep) is investigating an incident involving a part-time promoter at a pop-up booth that was located within Tangs department store after she was allegedly told by the staff to remove her hijab before she was allowed to work.

The incident was brought to light after her employer, Raine Chin, posted about the exchange on her social media pages on July 29.

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"They discriminated against religious headgear and implied that the removal of it is to uphold professionalism," she wrote.

Speaking with Today, Nurin Jazlina Mahbob, Chin's 20-year-old hire, recounted how she had just started her shift on her first day at work when two managers from Tangs approached her, allegedly telling her to take off her religious wear before being allowed to work.

"They didn't even let me speak up. They just kept saying I couldn't work there wearing my hijab because it's against their guidelines," she shared.

Nurin was allowed to keep her hijab on for the rest of the day, as their exchange drew the attention of passers-by. She was, however, also handed a copy of Tang's guidelines.

According to Chin's post, the guidelines stipulated that no religious headwear were allowed, amongst other rules such as avoiding the use of main entrances, not being allowed to drink anything but plain water and not being allowed to eat on the premise.

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After the incident, Chin received a text message from the store informing her that she had to clear her booth, two weeks earlier than stated on the original agreement of Aug 13.

In response to Today's queries, a Tangs spokesperson said its staff members had only reminded Chin of the store's guidelines.

"But unfortunately, our reminders were received negatively. We meant no harm and bore no ill will when we reiterated our guidelines."

They added that their staff members would "never" ask anyone to remove their religious headscarf immediately, understanding that doing so is offensive.

As for why Chin was asked to leave, the spokesperson explained that it expected its frontline staff members to be "accorded the same dignity and respect that we offer our partners".

"Given subsequent verbal exchanges (with Ms Chin) that we prefer to keep confidential, we had to come to the unfortunate decision to part ways." 

Chin, on the other hand, wrote that between leaving and allowing her label and part-timer to be humiliated, she chose the former.

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A Tafep spokesperson told Today that all employers are to abide by the principles of fair employment practises as set out in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practises, which dictates that "religious attire should generally be allowed at workplaces, unless employers have uniforms or dress code requirements that are suited for the nature of their work, or for operational and safety reasons."

Aware Singapore, a gender equality advocacy group, pointed out how the clause in the guidelines would "excuse some employers to 'require' not to wear religious attire … for this is the notion of a 'professional' appearance."

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"We need comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation to protect against discrimination on the basis of race and religion. Otherwise, prejudiced behaviour will only continue in Singaporean workplaces."

This is not the first time someone has faced such discrimination. Earlier this year, a Sikh man was told his prospective employer might not be comfortable with "the cloth thingy" on his head by the agency. The agency has since issued an official apology

In November last year, a woman shared on Twitter that she was told to remove her bindi during work as a beauty advisor.

Another woman's post went viral in 2016 after she shared how she was told that she was not allowed to wear a hijab when she applied for the role of administrative assistant at a private preschool operator, as "Chinese parents are afraid" and "kids get scared too."

rainercheung@asiaone.com

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