UCP activist sues employer in Salihorsk

Viktar Malochka, activist of the United Civil Party’s Salihorsk office, is suing his employer over what he says is harassment he has been subjected to in the past two years.

The activist says he has been facing difficulties in finding a job, which he attributes to his political activities. This time, a conflict with Viktar Malochka’s employer was triggered by the activist’s running in the 2012 parliamentary elections.

“I am not fond of conspiracy theories, but it just happened so that after my participation in the elections the hypermarket “Zlatka” was closed, where I had worked as a senior guard,” says Viktar Malochka. “I am not employed there since then, but not fired, either. The situation is quite strange. For five months, I cannot get my work book to try to find another job.”

The former candidate was offered a job in another shop of the “Zlatka” network, but Viktar refused the offer, as the employment conditions appeared to be much worse. The absurdity of the situation is that the employer does not want to fire the employee within staff reduction and make large compensation payments. On the other hand, he cannot dismiss the activist for absenteeism, even though Viktar has not worked at the new job a singe day. Many months of correspondence with the employer brought no results, which made the UCP activist lodge a lawsuit against the employer.

It is worth noting that this is not the first case of harassment in the working practice of Viktar Malochka. Earlier, the activist’s employment contract with the local social center was terminated upon proposal by the regional police department. Then, in search of the truth, Mr. Malochka submitted a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee.