SINGAPORE: Discrimination of any form has "no place at all in our society and, most certainly, not at the workplace".
This was what President Halimah Yacob said in a Facebook post today, as she revealed that Tangs department store here has said that it will now allow the hijab or religious headdress to be worn by workers on its premises.
Halimah was weighing in on a recent incident reported by TODAY in which a sales promoter at Tangs was asked to remove her hijab to work in the department store.
"Tangs had since said that they would remove such restrictions and will allow the hijab to be worn at work," she said.
Condemning any form of discrimination "against anyone", she added: "People should be assessed solely on their merits and their ability to do a job and nothing else."
Discrimination at the workplace is particularly disturbing because it deprives the person affected from earning a living, Halimah added.
"During this Covid-19 period, when concerns over jobs and livelihoods are greater, incidents of discrimination exacerbate anxieties and people feel threatened.
"Diversity is our strength and our society has already embraced it. I hope that employers too will fully embrace diversity at the workplace and do their part to uphold the values of a fair and open society," she added.
TODAY reported on Tuesday that the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) is looking into an incident where Tangs employees allegedly asked Nurin Jazlina Mahbob, 20, a part-time promoter at a pop-up booth, to remove her hijab in order to be allowed to work on its premises.
The woman who hired Nurin to man the booth in late July then made public the incident on social media, saying that it was a "ridiculous" demand by Tangs. – Today Online
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