Tuesday, finally, the Eiffel Tower reopened after being closed to the public on Monday after a staff strike related to management instructions given to female workers when a Hindu delegation visited the tower.
The strike comes amid fears from the workers that instructions were given before a delegation of people from the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) arrived at the temple. Management allegedly told the female employees not to contact members of the visiting team, which served to fuel staff rage over the weekend, said Diane Davoine of the CGT union in a statement to AP.
BAPS is a worldwide religious and civic society connected to the Swaminarayan faith and philosophy. The group has been celebrating the official laying of the foundation stone of an old stone temple in Paris.
BAPS stated it involved the Eiffel Tower management before this delegation or some 100 visitors were to be expected to stay to ensure there was minimal impact on the staff and visitors. But the organisation emphasized that it should not be a gender-based coordination.
BAPS denied any indication that the set-up was based on gender went against the values of the organisation and its delegation. Its principles affirmed equality with mutual respect and service whatever the gender, background or beliefs.
The organisation had previously issued a “sincere apology” to anyone that they may have hurt or inconvenienced with the situation before.
TheOwner of the Eiffel Tower did not immediately comment on the debate.
The landmark, which is one of the world’s most visited tourist attraction, welcomes over seven million tourists per year, and has been in operation for 137 years. Its temporary closure had everything do with sensitivity over policies and arrangements put in place in the workplace if large numbers of religious or cultural groups are invited to a significant public site.