Female staff at the Manhattan hotel where former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn allegedly sexually assaulted a chambermaid were being allowed Thursday to wear trousers instead of skirts, after a protest from employees, a union official said.
Sofitel, a hotel chain that prides itself on a traditional dress code, made the concession amid concern about the vulnerability of chambermaids after Strauss-Kahn was charged over allegations that he sexually assaulted and tried to rape a 32-year-old housekeeper.
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The alteration of its uniform code followed a meeting between staff and management that was also attended by a New York Hotel Workers Union representative, according to The (London) Times.
“There had been some complaints about the uniform,” union spokesman John Turchiano told the newspaper.
Earlier this week, Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) called for legislation that would ensure maids were equipped with panic buttons.
“Housekeepers at hotels have a right not to be sexually attacked,” said Lancman. “We send hotel workers into rooms, by themselves, with no security.”
Strauss-Kahn was moved Wednesday to a luxury Tribeca townhouse, where he will remain under house arrest.