Liana T. (name changed at her request) worked as a cleaner at a regional branch of a child development center. She says that she was in the second month of her pregnancy when she applied to the director, informing him that she would need a physical leave. However, the director said that “they do not provide physical leave”, he was fired.
According to Liana, there have never been any problems in the workplace, the abrupt decision of the manager to be fired was incomprehensible and unexpected for her. She was very confused, but tried to get clarification from the head.
The lawyer of our center talked to the director, trying to understand the situation, and demanded a justification from him. “In response to the director’s reasoning, the lawyer, referring to the law, said that not providing Liana with a leave of absence or unjustified dismissal is a violation of the law, after which the situation began to change for the better,” Women’s House NGO told WomenNet.am Social worker Lilit Muradyan.
As a result of the work done for about a week, the NGO manages to defend Liana’s violated right. As a result, the employer does not fire Liana, arranges her physical leave (maternity leave). In addition to resolving the issue, the organization also provided counseling and awareness services to the woman.
By the way, the data of the study on the protection of the rights of women in early motherhood conducted by the “Ket 33” organization prove that the prohibitions prescribed by law do not always work. For example, violations are based on the fact that the law does not regulate the procedure for submitting a pregnancy certificate to an employer. Problems also arise when a woman has a fixed-term contract that expires before going on maternity leave. In fact, the ban applies only to cases where the woman has an employment contract for an indefinite period. In short, some drafts of the law, according to experts, need to be clarified.
This Article was prepared in the frames of the “Strengthening Women’s Participation in the Workforce” project implemented by OxYGen Foundation in cooperation with Solidarity Center in Armenia.
