Today.Az » Weird / Interesting » 'Female' way of protest
10 June 2013 [15:25] - Today.Az
After their company decided to ban shorts during work hours, thirteen
Swedish train conductors decided to wear skirts during the hot summer
months. They’ve become the talk of the internet after photos of them
dressed in female attire went viral.
“Of course people stare at
you a little when you are on the platform, but you just have to put up
with it,” Martin Åkersten, one of the bold conductors, told Swedish
newspaper, Mitti. It can get pretty hot in a train cabin during the
summer, with temperatures reaching 35 to 40 degrees Celsius, but the
Arriva company’s uniform regulations state skirt or long trousers. Faced
with a choice, some of its male employees have opted for the skirts as a
way to cool off. Åkersten and some of his colleagues got the green
light from their manager a couple of weeks ago, and since then others
have joined in the protest, while others have gone back to their usual
uniforms. Mainly it’s the train conductors who don skirts, but a few
members from the passenger car staff have also oped for them.
Arriva, which operates Stockholm’s Roslagsbanan train services approves
of its employees choice, and says the skirts look more presentable than
shorts. “Our thinking is that one should look decent and proper when
representing Arriva and the present uniforms do that. If the man only
wants [to wear] a skirt then that is OK. To tell them to do something
else would be discrimination,” company communications manager Tomas
Hedenius told reporters.
Despite claims that shorts make employees look overly relaxed on the
job, Arriva has announced the issue of uniforms will be back on the
agenda at an upcoming company meeting scheduled for September.
/OddityCentral.Com/
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