SEVENTEEN cases of employers violating maternity legislation were filed last year and three of them ended in prosecutions, Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou said on Thursday.
Addressing a forum on motherhood organised by the Committee on Gender Equality, Emilianidou said that only one in seven women report discrimination in the work place over violation of their rights regarding pregnancy and motherhood.
Her address was delivered by the head of labour department, Alexandros Alexandrou.
The main reason for not filing a complaint, Emilianidou said, was because women feel they would be unsuccessful.
“Both European and Cypriot legislation constitute a key legal instrument in trying cases concerning discrimination on the grounds of maternity or pregnancy,” Emilianidou said.
A large number of studies indicate that many women face these types of discrimination.
Examples include being fired while pregnant or changing their employment terms during pregnancy.
Discrimination also occurs once a mother returns to work after the end of maternity leave, Emilianidou said.
“Recognition of maternity as a social rather than a personal affair will gradually change the gender stereotypes associated with it,” she said.
The minister said that there have been many amendments to the existing legislation recently, including the coverage of surrogate mothers, and new laws such as paternity leave.
She said the findings of the forum would help improve current conditions by recording possible weaknesses in the law.
Many of the cases tried by the labour dispute court, she said, and which have set a precedent, concern cases to which the Gender Equality Committee has provided independent legal assistance.
The committee in question, is part of the labour ministry and is very active in providing advice to employers and workers, carrying out studies, and raising awareness through seminars, among other things, Emilianidou said.
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