Greek employer threatens to lay off a pregnant employee if she doesn’t have an abortion!

ReINFORM invites European Trade Unions to condemn the following two incidents of employers’ arbitrariness in Greece. We strongly believe that solidarity among European workers is a vital ingredient of the struggle for decent working conditions and a decent life. We hope that you share this belief and ask you to sign the following two declarations of support by the Trade Union of Salaried Engineers in Greece (www.somt.gr).

 
1. EMPLOYER THREATENS TO LAY OFF A PREGNANT EMPLOYEE IF SHE DOESN’T HAVE AN ABORTION

The Trade Union of Salaried Engineers in Heraklion of Crete, Greece, invites you to declare your solidarity regarding the incredible threat launched by the PANTHEON AKTEE company on one of its female employees.

The female engineer, who is now pregnant, was employed on the basis of the general collective contract (by the General Confederation of Greek Workers – GSEE) as administration staff (€615 gross salary) although she performs engineering tasks with all the responsibility that comes with that. Despite the fact that she had signed an indefinite contract, she was placed within the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). In this way, her salary is paid by Greek tax payers and the company receives a subsidy for her while it is only required to pay her national insurance fees. Nevertheless, the employee hasn’t received any salary since June. In addition, the company still owes her the Christmas, Easter and summer vacation pay, hasn’t compensated her for an industrial accident she suffered and hasn’t paid her for overtime and work on Saturdays.

But the company’s arbitrariness doesn’t stop there. The employee has been threatened that if she doesn’t interrupt her pregnancy she will be laid off. In addition, she has suffered verbal abuse and has been threatened to be beaten. She has also experienced discrimination due to her being pregnant and is now being blackmailed to resign in exchange of her overdue salaries. The company is trying to force the employee to resign before she gives birth to her child, as she will then be protected by law from being fired for 18 months. If the company lays her off after she becomes a mother, it will be obliged to pay her all the salaries for the 18-month protected period plus a penalty.

Due to the employer’s threats, the employee feels that she and her unborn child are in danger. We state that if any harm comes to our colleague, we will consider the company as the only responsible!

Delays in salary and benefit payments are the culmination of employers’ widespread tactic of systematically violating labour legislation and deteriorating working conditions. Their excuse is always the same: “We have no money, employees will get paid when the company gets paid.” But employees are neither company sponsors nor business partners. Did companies share profits with their employees when they were highly profitable? Why are employees now expected to share the losses by “contributing” their salaries for the companies’ “survival”?

But the specific incident goes beyond the financial sphere and poses a major threat on human decency. In addition, it constitutes one more proof of the sexist discriminations that female workers still suffer in the 21st century in the supposedly civilised European Union.

2. WORKER IN A CONSTRUCTION SITE WAS LAID OFF “BECAUSE HE WASN’T CHEERFUL”

The Trade Union of Salaried Engineers, Greece, invites you to declare your support regarding the layoff of a colleague who was fired on the grounds that “he wasn’t cheerful”.

Our colleague was employed by ELEMKA, a member of METKA Group – subsidiary of MYTILINEOS Group. When he asked to be informed about the terms of his employment he found out that his contract was for three months and he was expected to work overtime, although none of these terms had been initially agreed.

The company refused to pay his overtime when he asked and soon after fired him. When the employee refused to sign his layoff, it was announced to him by a court clerk.

“We laid him off because he wasn’t cheerful!”: This was the answer given by the company’s representatives to the Trade Union when asked the reason of the lay-off.

They know no respect! The construction project demands exhausting hours, a six-day working week, unpaid overtime. Contracts are for three months, while engineers are employed as freelancers and are named “subcontractors” or “cooperators”. It is obvious that the high profits of METKA and MYTILINEOS Group have been made through the unpaid overtime and the workers’ exploitation.

By laying off our colleague, the company wants to terrorize all the people working at the construction site. This incident is one more example of the employers’ fierce effort to get rid of the workers who oppose their exploitation. It is part of the overall attack they have launched on every working right in an attempt to impose working conditions reminiscent of slavery.

Source of the featured image:http://www.thepressproject.net/article/69407/Employer-to-pregnant-worker-Get-an-abortion-or-get-sacked