Chinese e-commerce big Alibaba Group Holding has fired a supervisor who allegedly sexually assaulted a feminine worker and can set up insurance policies to stop sexual harassment, Chief Executive Daniel Zhang mentioned on Monday.
The supervisor – at Alibaba’s City Retail unit, which presents grocery supply from native supermarkets – “has been fired and will never be rehired,” Zhang mentioned in a memo revealed on Alibaba’s intranet that was seen with Reuters.
The man advised administration there have been “intimate acts” with the worker when she was inebriated, Zhang mentioned within the memo, including that the police is investigating the matter.
Reuters was unable to succeed in the person for remark.
“Alibaba Group has a zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct, and ensuring a safe workplace for all our employees is Alibaba’s top priority,” an organization spokesperson advised Reuters when requested concerning the memo.
Over the weekend, a feminine staffer posted an 11-page account on Alibaba’s intranet during which she mentioned her supervisor and a consumer sexually assaulted her whereas on a enterprise journey, and that managers had didn’t take motion.
Threads associated to the incident subsequently ranked among the many top-trending on Weibo, China’s Twitter-esque microblog, which has been alight with dialogue of the #MeToo anti-sexual harassment motion following a celeb intercourse scandal final week.
Zhang mentioned the City Retail unit’s president and human sources head had resigned over the incident, and that Alibaba’s chief individuals officer has “received a demerit”.
Investigations into different people referred to within the sufferer’s account are ongoing, Zhang added within the memo.
Alibaba will conduct company-wide coaching for the prevention of sexual harassment and launch a channel for workers to report incidents, Zhang mentioned within the memo. It can even situation a proper, zero-tolerance anti-sexual harassment coverage.
Zhang additionally mentioned Alibaba is staunchly against “the ugly culture of forced drinking”.
The memo detailed the sufferer’s account of the incident, during which she recalled superiors ordering her to drink alcohol with coworkers throughout dinner on a enterprise journey.
“Regardless of gender, whether it is a request made by a customer or supervisor, our employees our empowered to reject it,” Zhang mentioned within the memo.
“This incident is a humiliation for all Alibaba employees. We must rebuild, and we must change,” he mentioned.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
