Based on the statistics from the Confederation Syndicate of Timor-Leste (KSTL), from 2001 until 2012 a total of 35% of female workers had their rights violated in the workplace.
The Head of the Industrial Relations Division at KSTL, Joao Cabral said currently employers discharge workers without a reason.
"Employers discharge workers without a clear reason and the problems are with contracts, overtime and monthly payments, security, health and hygiene problems in the workplace, and these are violations of human rights," said the Head of the Industrial Relations Division recently in Colmera, Dili.
He said there were five cases where employers forbid workers from becoming pregnant, four cases where women were forced to work hard while pregnant, four cases of problems with the salaries and one sexual abuse case. Other companies did not give workers the right to breastfeed their babies.
"The rights of female workers are not just protected by the Labour Law but also the Constitution of the Republic, therefore all people should respect women's rights based on what is written in the law," said the Head of the Industrial Relations Division.
He said this continues to happen because the government has not put in the maximum effort to raise awareness about the issue, the inspection system for companies is also still weak and companies do not have the goodwill to implement these laws.
Meanwhile, Work Inspector Rofino Lopes recognized that the understanding of the Labour Law is low and that's why there is still discrimination and employers still violate the rights of female workers.
He said the Directorate for General Work Inspections in 2012 gave fines to a national and international company that violated the Labour Law based on an inspection and workers statements.
"The Work Inspection Directorate gave a fine to 194 companies in the whole country with a total budget of $37 million but $29 million has been paid to the National Bank (BNU) and $8 million has not been paid yet," said Inspector Lopes.
He said that the money the companies paid for the fines would enter the state coffers, and it was up to the state to use that money.