Virgin female staff in 'bra wars' row over new 'skimpy' blouses that reveal dark underwear

Virgin Trains has sparked a "bra wars" row with female staff refusing to wear new "flimsy" blouses, which they say allow passengers to clearly see dark underwear.

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains has been forced to delay new staff uniforms after female workers complained they were too 'skimpy' and 'revealing' 

The new uniform – due to launch this Wednesday – has upset female staff who say the red blouses fail to protect their modesty by being too "skimpy" and "revealing".

Virgin rail boss Sir Richard Branson has been forced to delay bringing in the new uniforms by three weeks after staff complained that the light-red blouses would allow male passengers to see dark bras being worn underneath.

He has offered female staff £20 vouchers to buy undergarments to cover up any embarrassment, but rail union TSSA is demanding the blouses be withdrawn and replaced with a new version.

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, said: "Our female members are upset because they feel Sir Richard is cutting corners by asking them to wear flimsy blouses which are skimpy and they feel too revealing."

Andy Cross, Virgin's business support director, told the employees' website: "It's important that our people feel comfortable and so we will be issuing vouchers in the next few days for ladies to buy undergarments to wear under their blouses."

He acknowledged there were two problems, the sizing of the new blouses which many women felt were too "skimpy".
"The other relates to feedback concerning the thickness of the ladies' blouse material. Female employees concerned about the new blouse will be offered a £20 voucher to buy suitable undergarments."
The "bra wars" row comes just days after Virgin Atlantic unveiled a new uniform for staff designed by Vivienne Westwood.
Virgin Trains employs 3,100 staff but a spokesman was unable to say how many of those are female. The blouses "boob" could end up costing the company thousand of pounds.
The spokesman added staff were consulted on the new uniforms, which had already been "tweaked". "This is an issue we weren't aware of until very recently," he said.
The uniform launch has been delayed until May 27 to give staff enough time to buy appropriate undergarments, he said.