Bra shop bust up over cup-size name tags

A Swedish lingerie chain may be sued by its union after complaints from staff members who are told to wear name tags displaying their bra sizes.

The badges, which all saleswomen at Change are asked to don, documents their cup size and bust circumference alongside their name.

”We have dirty old men coming into the shop looking at my cup size,” an anonymous employee told union paper Handelsnytt. “Why should everyone get to know that? Guys selling underwear don’t have to show their size.”

Speaking to Sveriges Radio (SR), another former employee said she was told on her first day of work that the purpose of the tags was to showcase the broad range of sizes available in the store. “I thought it seemed really weird, but I wanted the job as well,” she said.

According to Change CEO Susann Haglund, the idea, which was introduced three years ago, was first suggested by employees and is not compulsory. ”I don’t get why this would be seen as demeaning in any way. I am sure there are those that feel that way, but it is completely voluntary to wear a name tag with your cup size,” she told SR.

This suggestion that staff have a choice whether or not to wear the badges has been rejected by the former employee, however.

”When you start you get a document which states that ‘name tag with size is always worn’, so to me that doesn’t reflect that it was voluntary. It isn’t great when you’re out on the town and people greet you with your name and cup size. It feels sort of private,” she said to SR.

The union is now considering suing the shop for what it says is a clear case of discrimination and possibly illegal under Swedish law. ”It is completely demeaning,” Jaana Palsson of the union told the radio station.