KUALA LUMPUR: The Union Network International Malaysian Liaison Council (UNI-MLC) urges the Ministry of Human Resources to act aggressively to the complaints that Muslims working in international hotels are not allowed to wear headscarves.
UNI-MLC President, Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal said, the union had earlier lodged a report to the ministry about the hotel workers’ complaints.
Mohamed Shafie suggested, the ministry can make a surprise check on the alleged hotels as this issue is associated with the act of discriminating the workers’ religious practices and subsequently is against the Federal Constitution.
“Following the complaints lodged by the Muslim staffs, we found that the reports were valid and that the said international hotels’ policies did not allow Muslim staffs to wear headscarves.
“In the three months study, we have identified 12 international hotels rating five and six stars have been practicing such policies,” he said to Utusan Malaysia recently.
Mohamed Shafie said, the union also checked the contract of service of the hotel staff involved, but there is no mention that wearing headscarf is not allowed in the standard operating procedure (SOP).
“We are not trying to find whose fault is it but the employers should respect the culture and the religion of their workers.
“I understand very well about the principles and the ethics of the international hotels but they should also allow some spaces and choices for the workers to choose the dress codes that are suitable to the Malaysian community,” he added. –Malaysia World News
