KUALA LUMPUR: Only with pressure from the government can an industry do away with discriminatory practices.
A hotel industry expert has stated that most international hotel chains will remain reluctant to do away with their in-house rulings on hijabs for front line hotel staff.
Singapore-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte) operations manager risk advisory Chong Yoon Ong said such policies are even in practice in the Middle East, where the policy is commonly adhered to in international hotel chains.
"It is just that they have specific uniform packages that are, in some cases, brand-mandated for consistency. Unfortunately these standards sometimes don’t take into consideration local sensitivities such as the hijab," said Chong.
The Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) issued a statement on Nov 6 following numerous complaints lodged by female hotel employees about the ban of hijab at their workplace.
It revealed that students in hospitality and tourism courses have also been instructed to follow suit when undergoing internships with hotels.
Chong said this was the case with most, if not all international hotel chains, but admitted under current trends, if there was a strong government push, hotels would not continue to uphold such policies.
"I have worked in Dubai and it was the same there, none of my staff wore hijabs. Even if some of them wore headscarves outside, they removed it when they are on duty," said Chong.
"In some countries, if there is a strong government push, there can be a change."