Disloyal worker fired “for health reasons”

Brest regional authorities have made use of a new method of labor discrimination of disloyal workers: locksmith Siarhei Ivanou has been fired “for health reasons” from Brest Chief Specialized Bureau of Complex Climate Equipment Design.

Siarhei Ivanou was famous for fighting for safe working conditions, which, in his opinion, was the actual reason for the dismissal. The chief engineer of the company, according to Ivanou told him: "Leave yourself. If you do not go away, we’ll sack you for an offence. I know how to do it, believe me." They initially wanted to dismiss him for absenteeism, and when they did not succeed, just stopped letting him inside the enterprise. Then he was asked to undergo a medical examination under paragraph 5.1 of the Ministry of Health’s decree (lifting and pulling of loads). However, this option does not apply to locksmiths, but to movers.
As a result, Ivanou was fired just for health reasons. Human rights defender Uladzimir Malei says this is not the first dismissal of this kind in Brest region, when a person does not work on a contract, but on an indefinite employment agreement. According to the human rights defender, the employer’s actions show that Ivanou is forced out of the staff, left with no means of support. No one else except Ivanou was offered to undergo an additional medical examination under paragraph 5.1. Ivanou was then offered the position of an archivist (he has a university degree), and when he agreed, they said "no" - again because of his health condition.
Chief manager of the enterprise Mickhail Shomin does not deny the fact of Ivanou’s arbitrary dismissal, but said that it was the court that was to decide, where the worker filed a claim for reinstatement.