A prominent fashion icon and a PR guru, Frieha Altaf has been accused of workplace harassment by a ‘former’ intern working in her PR company Catwalk in Karachi.
Neha Kawalramani, in her recent post on Facebook alleged that Frieha Altaf had harassed her emotionally and verbally during her internship time at her company.
“I never thought that I will take such bold step against someone. But I had to because Chup beth Ke kuch nai milta. I think it’s high time to show your worth to people. Because what is wrong is WRONG”.
She further said in her post, “Heard a lot about this lady always – bad words only. But I got the answer to it once I began working for her. She is Bipolar. She treats her employees like animals and slaves”. She added that she never spoke in front of her but now she was raising her voice.
In an interview to Express Tribune Farieha denied all the allegation.
“Rather unfortunate and sad that a young, inexperienced intern should turn to social media rather than talk to her line manager to express her views,” Frieha said. “The intern is a young lady who is supposed to report and submit her work in a timely way. Bypassing her manager, she would directly submit her work to me which naturally was not always up to mark. She was hired by the manager, not me “Interns do not get official desks as they are temporary. The lady in question did not complete her work on time, came and went as desired. When her work was done well, she received appreciation as well which she forgets to mention,” claimed the CEO.
“No employee is pressured to stay. If the environment of an event company is highly stressed and not suited to their personality they leave,” she continued. “Most young people who have no experience in a work environment only see the glamourous side of our events.”
Further answering to the allegations the PR guru said, “A slave is someone who is owned by someone and not paid for services. My employees work very hard, long hours as is the nature of our job. That is what our clients expect from us and appreciate.”
She further said that her employees are exceptional. “Some of them have been with me over 15 years. I’m a perfectionist and I drive them to be the best they are. Many have gone on to open their own businesses and many have come back on their own will.”
She further wished Neha the best for her future endeavours.
