A UVW member and current Harrods employee, who complained of sexual harassment this year, has accused the luxury department store of treating ‘victims like perpetrators and perpetrators of such being covered’, whist continuing a culture ‘secrecy, corruption and the normalisation of sexual harassment.’
In the wake of the disgusting allegations of rape and sexual abuse against former luxury story Harrods Mohammed Al Fayed, the employee and UVW member, who wants to remain anonymous, said: “As a current employee of Harrods and having suffered from the rotten fruits of secrecy, corruption and the normalisation of sexual harassment in the business I’m appalled. They lied, the culture is very alive and kicking! Victims are being treated like perpetrators and perpetrators of such are being covered!
The member of United Voices of the World – the trade union for Harrods’ workers – has spoken up in response to claims that “the Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed.”
Harrods employees reject Harrods’ claims of change that it is a “very different organisation” from the days of late boss Mohamed Al Fayed, with current workers asserting that Harrods a “a company that is rotten to its core,’ with a toxic ‘culture of secrecy and fear’ persisting under the current leadership.
Despite Harrods’ PR efforts to convince the press and general public of being a ‘very different organisation’, several members of UVW there solidly dispute this claim with another saying “Harrods is a company that is rotten to its core, continuing to foster a culture of secrecy and fear among the workplace. The imbalance of power within the company makes it impossible for workers to be sure that any concerns they have will be acknowledged and dealt with accordingly.”
In reply to Harrods’ claim it is a “very different organisation”, a UVW member and current Harrods employee, said:“Harrods is a company that is rotten to its core, continuing to foster a culture of secrecy and fear among the workplace. The imbalance of power within the company makes it impossible for workers to be sure that any concerns they have will be acknowledged and dealt with accordingly. Rather, senior people at Harrods continue to seek to absolve themselves of responsibility when it comes to important issues such as the welfare of their employees conducting a series of carefully articulated cover ups. The general feeling among Harrods’ workers is that we are at the bottom of the company’s priorities, forced into submission with the odds stacked against us.”
UVW is demanding action and warns of a potential strike ballot if the current situation persists, having called for urgent talks with Harrods management, which the company has rejected.
Harrods have refused to meet with UVW reps, with Abi Weeks, Chief People Officer of Harrods saying they believe they can address employee concerns “without the need for a third party”, even though UVW is the union which represents the largest group of workers in Harrods’ cleaning, retail and restaurant teams.
UVW, which represents Harrods’ workers in cleaning, retail and restaurants, rejects the luxury department stores’ claim that “Harrods is today a very different organisation”, and have written to Harrods to demand an urgent meeting with our reps to discuss our members’ concerns. The chief executive has been in position since 2005, when Al Fayed still owned and ran the company.
Source >> United Voices of the World
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