Ex-employee to
sue Prada Japan over alleged
harassment
TOKYO, April 19, 2010 (AFP) - A former employee
of Prada Japan who claims she was harassed by the
local unit of the Italian fashion house for being ugly said Monday
19 April she had begun legal proceedings for unfair
dismissal.
Rina Bovrisse, 36, said she would be joined by two former employees
in the suit against Prada Japan in which she alleges she
was unfairly fired after being harassed as "ugly" by the company's
top executive.
Bovrisse will seek to overturn her dismissal in the court case to
begin on May 14, her lawyers said, adding that further details of
the suit, including a demand for compensation for harassment, had
yet to be decided.
The
move came after the two sides failed to reach an out-of-court
settlement at a labour tribunal last month.
"I'm
here to take a stand for Japanese women who have been victims of
harassment and discrimination at the workplace," Bovrisse told a
news conference in Tokyo.
"I
love this country. I'm proud to be Japanese... as a hard-working
female, but the only issue that I saw in Japan was that the working
environment was not (as) safe as overseas.
"I
would like to be part of the next step, to create a (safe)
environment," she said. "If we face an issue now, it should be
solved within our generation."
Bovrisse, a Japanese national married to a Frenchman, alleges
that Prada Japan pressured a number of female employees
into resigning by describing them as "aged, ugly, fat, bad body
shape, bad teeth, disgusting and not cute."
According to Bovrisse, the executive also told her through a human
resources manager to change her hairstyle, lose weight and ensure
she fits the "Prada look."
"He
said... he is ashamed of my ugliness," she told reporters,
sobbing.
Prada Japan allegedly fired her last month after she
complained to the company's headquarters about the harassment.
Immediate comment from Prada Japan was not available.
Last month, the company dismissed Bovrisse's allegations as
groundless.