New cases of labor discrimination

13.06.2008. Tags: administrative trials, trade unions, workers' rights.

Leanid Autukukhou, opposition activist from the town of Haradok, was not rehabilitated at job by court. He sued against his dismissal because of the expiry of the working contract, but he was not supported by the judge, the prosecutor or the official trade union.

During the trial, which ended on 13 June, Leanid Autukhou, chairman of Haradok district branch of the BPF Party, tried to prove that he had been dismissed with violations of the labor legislation.

On 4 April 2008 he was fired from the position of operator of cleaning structures. However, he was informed about the dismissal in less than a months’ advance, which is prohibited by the law. Besides, as it was found, he worked a part of his shift after he was fired, which means that his working contract was to be extended automatically.

However, at the trial the deputy chair of the local organization of the official federation of trade unions of housing economy enterprises Iryna Siamionava stated that the legal norms, to which Autukhou was referring, were not obligatory for the employer. The prosecutor Natallia Liatas also stated she did not see any violations and the court did not grant Autukhou’s petition.

Alexander Halavach, activist of the youth wing of the United Civil Party, ‘Young Democrats’, have been fired from the Medical college in Minsk, where he was working as the head of the theatrical coterie.

Mr. Halavach studies at the Belarusian University of Culture (the faculty of traditional Belarusian culture and contemporary art). When he was employed, there was an informal agreement that he would be absent during his exam sessions. Later, there were no problems with that. However, several days ago Mr. Halavach was summonsed by the provost on educational work, who coldly asked him, why he was absent at the working place during the several days of his session. By the way, during his absence he did not receive a single call to his mobile phone from the Medical College. Nevertheless, the college administration decided to fire him, without explaining the real reasons. Before this Alexander Halavach worked as pedagogue-organizer at secondary school #207, but was fired there with the explanation that his ideology did not correspond to the state one.

Savetski district court of Homel rejected the suit against the local education department, filed by Sviatlana Paliakova, member of the United Civil Party, teacher of gymnasium #46.

On 12 May the employing agency officially warned the teacher that her working contract expired on 21 June. He was proposed to choose between the employment on the position of educator (where she would earn less) or firing from school. As the proposed position is by far less qualified and the wage is also less, the teacher thinks that the gymnasium administration applied hidden discrimination against her. By the way, not only Sviatlana Paliakova is a member of the United Civil Party, but her husband also heads Homel oblast UCP branch.