The Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of Catalonia considers that a promotional legend, located at chest height, on the work uniform does not objectify women. This has been decided in a recently known sentence, in which it has upheld an appeal filed by the company oil company Galp, which had been penalized for indirect discrimination based on sex. In this way, he has revoked the fine of 25,000 euros that had been confirmed by the Labor Court number 32 of Barcelona in February of last year.
Specifically, the Labor Inspectorate sanctioned the company in 2020 for imposing a purple T-shirt as a work uniform with the word “evologic” and the legend “ask me about the most advanced fuel on the market” inscribed across the chest. . Although the T-shirt was mandatory for both men and women, in the opinion of the Comisiones Obreras union (CC OO) it objectified the workers since the letters made some customers look at the breasts of the employees. In fact, Galp was aware that some worker felt “uncomfortable” with the garment, but did not offer them the possibility of using another uniform.
After not receiving a response from the company after complaining, the union brought the facts to the attention of the Labor Inspectorate, which sanctioned the company for a very serious violation of article 8.2 of the Law on Violations and Sanctions in the Social Order (Lisos). , by indirect discrimination based on sex. This occurs when a practice or measure that seems neutral generates an adverse effect on people of one sex. For example, the Supreme Court condemned a company in the health sector in 2011 for imposing a uniform consisting of a skirt, apron, cap and stockings on female workers and not allowing them to wear the trouser uniform that was regulated for men.
moral judgment
In the case of Galp, the TSJ of Catalonia has now ruled, revoking the sanction confirmed by the Social Court number 32 of Barcelona last year, that there is no discrimination. In a sentence in which the magistrate Jose Quetcuti, the court argues that the workers are dressed in “common uniforms” regardless of whether they are men or women. In addition, it emphasizes that the company sent them a series of documents with instructions to choose between 10 sizes of the shirts, differentiated between men and women according to the chest measurement. “The decision to choose the size depends on how loose or tight the user’s dress is,” transcribes the sentence from one of the documents.
In this way, the magistrates (two women and one man) have considered that the logo with which the shirts are configured, of a promotional nature, with the legend “ask me about the most advanced fuel on the market” printed at chest height, it does not imply a situation of sexualization or objectification of women. “The shirts are the same as those offered to male workers, without being more low-cut or tight-fitting for female workers. That in order to read the legend one must look at the woman’s breasts, it cannot but be pointed out that the same thing happened with the logo of the company that has normally been used on ordinary T-shirts, as well as such a circumstance can obviously occur with respect to the badge that each worker wore and in which her name was recorded for identification purposes, without causing any inconvenience.” A different circumstance would have occurred if “the company had determined a specific size for the workers, imposing it.”
In addition, according to the court, it constitutes “a moral judgment” the “mere fact” of considering that a spelling in the chest area constitutes, “as per, a sexual claim in the worker and not in the worker”. The sentence, however, is not final since an appeal against it for the unification of doctrine before the Supreme Court is possible.
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