APSN Banner

Female workers share labour woes to workers union KSTL

Source
Dili Weekly - May 11, 2018

Paulina Quintao – According to the Labour Code of Timor-Leste, Law Number 4/2012, Article 59 about the entitlement to maternity leave, it states that female workers are entitled to maternity leave for a minimum of 12 weeks with full pay, yet some employers in Timor-Leste cut women's wages during their leave.

Hospitality female worker with initials PR said the law guarantees their entitlement to maternity leave with full pay but this is not being implemented across the board.

She said she has no idea if employers are aware of the law or not but some break the law because there is not enough control by the relevant institutions.

"We can take maternity leave, but our wage is split in two and we do not receive the full wage," said PR after participating in the march to mark International Workers' day in Mandarin, Dili.

She was upset because she makes the minimum wage of $115 per month, which is already not enough to respond to her family's need and yet it is then split into two so in the end she gets only half and it is not enough.

On top of it, she said, they are also not allowed to take any leave for six months after returning from leave and she is not allowed to take sick leave or even take her baby for treatment.

Another worker of a shop in Dili, with initials RS said workers are not being treated with the dignity from employers that the law prescribes. RS is a cleaner, she stocks shelves and attends customers.

"It is OK to cut our wage if we just do not turn up to work but I get upset when our wages are cut because our children are sick or when we get sick," she said.

While another female worker with initials VS also raised similar concerns about employers not caring about the health of employees, and only caring about having workers present at work.

"Sometimes we show them the medical certificate, but they don't care and cut our wages," she said. She said they also experience verbal violence from their employers in the workplace.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of KSTL, Jose da Costa Conceicao said labour disputes continue to happen and the union gets three of four complaints from workers each week alleging violation of workers' rights.

"Workplace inspections are not effective so violations continue to occur," he said. He added most complaints are against local employers not foreign companies.

He said also that the government has an obligation to protect the citizens especially workers' rights prescribed by the law.

On the other hand, the Executive Director of Women's Organization Alola Foundation, Alzira Reis, agrees that workers are still suffering worker's violations and that there is research of the private sector that shows employers violate workers' rights, in particular a woman's right to maternity leave with full pay.

She urges the upcoming new government to pay attention to this issue, and to create better mechanisms that put pressure on employers to abide by the laws and regulations in place protecting the rights of workers.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/15500-female-workers-share-labour-woes-to-workers-union-kstl

Country