A MANAGER who ordered a strip search of women employees has been fired.
This follows an incident where about 20 Topbet staff members were allegedly strip searched.
Blood had been found on the toilet seat on the premises of the sports gambling business in Germiston, Ekurhuleni.
Employees were stripped naked and their punanis checked for signs of menstruation, allegedly on management’s orders.
Talking on Radio 702 on Monday morning, three clerks described the incident, which happened on 30 January.
One of the women said: “I raised my hands and told the manager I’m no longer menstruating as I’ve gone through menopause. She answered me and said, ‘whether or not you’re menstruating, you must go inside to be checked’.”
The woman has since opened a case of sexual harassment.
Topbet’s national office confirmed the incident. It released a statement which read: “The branch manager was subsequently dismissed with immediate effect.”
It also said the manager was arrested on charges of rape brought by a senior employee.
“Ten days after this, we discovered that a second rape charge had been laid by the same senior employee against one of the cleaning staff involved in the incident. We’re grateful to the employee for bringing this traumatic event to our attention. The senior employee’s temporary suspension was not as a result of her role as a whistle-blower, for which we’re deeply indebted.”
- The EFF has been demonstrating outside the branch and demanding that the franchise stop operating.
