http://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=118925

Poland’s labour ministry discriminates against women?

29.10.2009

The Ministry of Labour has been accused of discriminating against women - in a ministry that monitors discrimination.

 

Berenika Anders, who commissioned research on working conditions in the ministry, has been made redundant. The research, which was published in the media, revealed that 20 per cent of ministry’s employees were victims of bullying.

 

After Anders’s dismissal, deputy labour minister Agnieszka Chlon-Dominczak quit because she was deprived of most of her duties after coming back from maternity leave. 

 

According to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Maria Kahlau, a higher official at the Labour Ministry, has lost her job because she became pregnant.

 

The National Labour Inspectorate has decided to monitor the Labour Ministry to investigate whether the above employees have been discriminated against because of their gender.

 

Labour Minister Jolanta Fedak denies the allegations. An official letter from the ministry reads that Kahlau has not been sacked.

 

“Mrs Kahlau is still holding the post of senior specialist but her duties as head of department have been passed on to Rafal Tomasik because Mrs Kahlau was unable to fulfill them while being on sick leave,” says the statement. (mg)