Parisian bus drivers win right to wear shorts

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After years of protest, Parisian bus drivers have finally got the green light to wear shorts for work during the sweltering summer months.

Public servers in France generally wear formal uniforms, and employers show little flexibility. Previously, male bus drivers across the country were required to wear long pants throughout the year, even when temperatures soars to mid 30s degree in summer.

As employees kept denouncing the strict dress code, RATP, the state-owned transport operator in Paris has decided to loosen the restriction, allowing its 15,000 drivers to wear bermuda shorts or skirts from June to September when temperatures rise above 28 degrees Celsius.

Paris bus driver Alexandra poses in a bus wearing a skirt, the new RATP uniform allowed during heat waves in Paris. /Reuters Photo

The company has designed and planned to distribute new uniforms to its staff starting this year. Men – who make up 90 percent of the drivers – will receive trousers that can be turned into shorts with a zipper, while women will receive skirts.

“Honestly, we were looking forward to receiving these shorts,” bus driver Abdelkader Arioua told Reuters. “It was a recurring topic every year.”

“And this year, what a good surprise, we got them!” Arioua said.

Male bus driver to receive new trousers that can be turned to shorts with a zipper. /Screenshot from Reuters

RATP’s drivers are not the only group winning the battle. Last year in June, bus drivers in the western French city of Nantes also gained their right to wear shorts after donning skirts to work for a day.

Male drivers working for local bus company Semitan believed that allowing women to wear skirts while banning men from wearing shorts is a form of discrimination. The drivers then put on skirts to work for a day, and their unconventional protest drove the company to update its dress code.

Drivers wore skirts to protest against strict dress code in France's western city of Nantes, June 20, 2017. /Screenshot from Presse Ocean

“In this heatwave, the temperatures are reaching close to 50 degrees behind our windscreens,” Semitan’s bus driver told French media Presse Ocean. “And given we have no air conditioning on our buses, it's unbearable."

(With imputs from Reuters)