Pressure on pregnant worker to 'resign' at Demirören Media

According to the allegations, company managers created pressure for the worker to resign, citing her pregnancy as the reason. The worker, who stated that she would not resign and that her situation could not be a justification for dismissal, was then subjected to mobbing by her managers. 

The worker, who resisted the pressure to resign, had her contract terminated and was fired. 

The worker, who reported her experiences to the website 'Patronların Ensesindeyiz' (We Are on the Bosses' Necks), stated that she would fight against this injustice both by raising public awareness and by exercising her legal rights. 

THE DISMISSED WOMAN SAID THE FOLLOWING:

First of all, before I was hired, my director asked me if I was thinking about having children. I said I wasn't, as I wasn't planning that process. After I became pregnant, she initially said she was very happy. However, 3 weeks ago, my director and the Kanal D budget manager complained to the CFO about me regarding things I hadn't done. Later, my director had hired an assistant under my position. She said she wasn't satisfied with her and would fire her and hire another specialist. I expressed my professional opinion on this matter. 

Last week, they called me in and accused me of not teaching the job to the assistant specialist. They also stated that they had received complaints that I was 'lowering the motivation of my colleagues.' I stated that I had no such conversation with anyone. 

We have a certain budget for salaries. The distribution is at the discretion of the CFO and the director. At first, I thought they were acting this way so that the raise rate would be low. And while she was talking to me, she declared that my pregnancy was 'a goal scored against her.' Before the news of the pregnancy, we had discussed that she would get me a raise and that they would give me a manager position.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD UNPROTECTED SEX"

Afterwards, on Monday morning, January 15, she called me and asked for my resignation. At first, she said she didn't have the budget and needed to hire a new employee. Then she said the problem was that I was pregnant and that she would have trouble because of it. I stated that pregnancy is not a valid reason for termination. And she explicitly told me, 'You shouldn't have had unprotected sex.' They offered me 2 months' salary in exchange for my resignation, but I did not accept it. Monday, January 15, was one day before my 6-month probation period was completed. They forced such a process on me on the last day so that I couldn't file a lawsuit.

I didn't feel well and the doctor gave me a two-day medical report. When I went to the office after the leave, the CFO said the problem was my performance and that I was trying to bring my pregnancy to the fore. He said this process was natural based on employee performance at the end of the year. 

I was dealing with the budget process of 5 different departments in the company. I was constantly receiving positive verbal feedback regarding my performance in the processes until the news of my pregnancy. I was told that I did not keep the promises I made. I couldn't even rejoice out loud about my pregnancy. 

"I HAVE 6 MONTHS LEFT UNTIL I GIVE BIRTH"

It was humiliating that they told me it was a natural process and offered me two months' salary. Because we know that a company will not hire me as of now. I have 6 months left until I give birth. In this process, companies see pregnant women as dead investments. 

I learned that they will hire the new friend after me as a manager for more than twice my salary.

Finally, what I want to say is that this issue is not just a 'women's issue' alone. My husband is not working right now. They must have assumed that I would accept those two salaries because they knew this situation.

Yes, I am experiencing gender inequality, or all women are. But I think everyone, regardless of gender, should take ownership of the process. 

‘Many women face similar situations’

"INHUMANE TREATMENT"

While all this was happening, I learned that there are many other women experiencing the same situation as me. Even when one knows about such issues, it feels like it won't be real. Because this is such inhumane treatment.

My hope is to reach other women and tell them that they are not alone in their rightful struggle.

STATEMENT FROM COMMUNICATION WORKERS

Media organizations, which are among the most important professions that should inform and enlighten the public about crimes committed against the public, have today turned into patron organizations that have become holding companies. In these organizations, which no longer contain any ethics or values either for workers or professionally, exploitation and extortion are at the highest level. 

Regardless of whether they are men or women, discrimination is of course still practiced among workers whose rights are usurped. In the eyes of the bosses, female laborers are a workforce that can be ignored first and replaced quickly. The greatest weapon of laborers against this immorality and recklessness is their organized struggle. 

As in history, the fact that female and male workers fight side by side against the bosses has brought gains in many areas. 

For this reason, we challenge the attacks carried out against society and workers, and we are growing the organized struggle of the working class. 

As the PE Communication Workers Solidarity Network, we are also joining the struggle of our friend who was subjected to pressure and dismissed at Demirören Media. 

PROMISE OF SUPPORT FROM WOMEN'S SOLIDARITY COMMITTEES

One of the examples we encounter most often regarding exploitation and discrimination against female laborers in workplaces is dismissal due to pregnancy... It doesn't matter which sector it is; when women become pregnant, they are fired whether they work as a worker in a factory or as a teacher in a private school. This situation has become so normalized that bosses don't even think that women will fight against it. But there are always female laborers who disappoint the bosses' hopes. Our friend is also a female laborer who does not accept this situation and has decided to fight to the end against this injustice she has experienced... As the WSC (Women's Solidarity Committees), we are with her in her struggle to the end. 

On the other hand, this pressure on women's private lives starts at job interviews; some companies even put unfair conditions in the employment contracts of female laborers stating that they will not get pregnant or get married for as long as they work or for a certain period. Can a woman who is presented with such a contract or whose private life is scrutinized during a job interview feel comfortable in that workplace even if she is hired? This is exactly what they want; for us to feel on edge from the very beginning, never to fall into the thought that we can be permanent there, and thus to always work more, to always prove ourselves more... 

Yes, there is a prohibition of discrimination in the Labor Law, but social rules outweigh legal rules, and bosses use this very well. These rules say that all responsibilities related to the family, especially childcare, belong to women in society... And it is reinforced most of all through politics and religion. All right-wing politicians, especially the AKP, and all sects and communities, especially the Diyanet, define the primary duty of a woman as serving her husband, sitting at home, and raising children. 

Discrimination and pressure against female laborers in workplaces return as rights violations. Today it's me, tomorrow it's you... As the WSC, we say, "Don't wait for your turn, get organized." In a workplace where women are organized, no female laborer can be fired for being pregnant or suffer from rights violations. An organized woman feels strong and opposes the rules imposed on her wherever she is in her life, and transforms her environment. That is why it is so important for women to come together and organize in workplaces. We are with our friend's struggle to the end. We have no doubt that her struggle will set an example and give strength to many other female laborers.

News Source: 12punto