Fired for being pregnant: two defy the odds for empowerment and restitution

The diligent innocent women still climb ladders, handle hoses and squirt water to put out the fire, but they may lose the fight for deserved compensation.

A GNA article by Christiana Afua Nyarko

Accra, October 24, GNA – The family life of 41-year-old Thelma Hammond, before the year 2011, was peaceful and tranquil until the fateful day of June 14, 2011.

It was a day that the mother of five will never be able to erase from her memory.

She received a letter of resignation, then aged 36, from her bosses at the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) because she was pregnant.

Her employer wrote that she had breached regulation 33(6), which prohibited female firefighters from becoming pregnant within the first three years of their appointment.

“When I started working and receiving a monthly salary, everything went well in my house. I never minded cooking and taking care of the family on my salary, even if my husband couldn’t support it.”

Like Thelma, Grace Fosu’s life was that of a happy wife and mother, who had a son before being recruited into the GNFS.

The now 38-year-old had been working since July 21, 2012, but was fired on September 10, 2014. Grace was pregnant and her dismissal came a year after Thelma’s.

“I was still reporting for duty with my pregnancy until I was called to headquarters and informed along with my husband that I was dismissed from service for failing to comply with regulations by becoming pregnant before the stipulated deadline.

“The call to receive my resignation letter came when I was in labor. ”Grace said in a trembling voice at her home in Dansoman Russia, a suburb of Accra.

The dismissal affected the finances of the two police officers and ruined their marriages.

Thelma lived in her husband’s family home at the time of her dismissal. She alleged that she suffered emotional, verbal and physical domestic abuse.

She resorted to odd jobs, including selling water sachets in traffic and phone top-up cards to survive.

Grace, on the other hand, took solace in her young son, but that was short-lived. She claims that after five years of losing her job, her husband ignored her and ignored her needs.

The two women told a story of suffering, despair and depression.

Empowered by a now retired senior fire service officer, Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO 1) Lawrence Lamptey Akrong, they sought justice.

The first point of contact was the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

With the help of CHRAJ, Grace and Thelma, in 2017, filed a case against the GNFS at the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court.

After several back and forths, the ladies received a favorable decision in 2018.

The presiding judge, Justice Anthony Yeboah, ruled that his dismissal was unconstitutional and an institutional attack on his fundamental human rights (i.e. his right to work, family and freedom from discrimination).

Their case attracted national and international headlines; earning it a place as the first successful gender discrimination case in the annals of the county’s justice system.

The decision, which marked positive progress for women’s rights in the country, also made clause 6 of the GNFS 33 regulation an affront to the country’s mother law, the 1992 Constitution, the 2003 Labor Law (Law 651) and the other numerous conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) ratified by Ghana.

The case was not only a victory for Thelma and Grace, but also for Ghanaian women, including those working in the security services.

The Court also ordered the reinstatement of Grace and Thelma, payment of all salaries and bonuses lost during the period of dismissal and a compensation package of 50,000 cedis each.

The victory brought a lot of relief and joy not only to the two women, but also to their families.

“It was a marathon of tears full of joy. When you saw us back then in the kind of attire we wore to court on that day of the ruling, you might even question whether we deserved the outcome of the ruling. It took a while for us to process the part of the decision that ordered our reinstatement”, said Thelma, her face shining with a smile.

“I was very happy. I cried a lot after the decision because I lost my parents when I was fired. Even my friends abandoned me. This decision, although it revived my soul, still brought back sad memories about my parents, especially my mother, whose death was linked to this.” Grace explained.

“It was at this time that I unleashed the peculiar force and power behind money and how it could change people’s attitude and behavior towards you. I also realized how valuable a woman can be in a man’s eyes when you are financially dependent,” he added.

Today, Grace and Thelma are back to work as firefighters.

“CHRAJ gave us a lot of help. They were like our guardian angels. We would be unemployed and suffering if it weren’t for their intervention. I believe it was the hand of God that led them to help them pursue our cause…it made us realize our worth and how the law was on our side as women. Thelma narrated as she went from tears to smiling.

Based on their experiences, the women advised their gender compatriots faced with similar situations to seek legal redress.

“Our situation has highlighted the many struggles and threats women face in the workplace. This case made me realize how vulnerable I can be as a woman, hence the need to turn to the law if we encounter situations that threaten our rights and well-being.

“I encourage women, wherever they work, to turn to the law if they are threatened with a similar fate, because the law has the power to free them from unfortunate situations like ours.” Thelma insisted.

Grace, on the other hand, advised men, especially husbands, to comfort, be considerate and support their wives who lose livelihoods or jobs because of pregnancy and childbirth, and not to ignore, avoid or deprive them of your needs.

The compensation ordered by the Court has not yet been paid and they have appealed to CHRAJ to help them in this regard to close the case.

“We ask CHRAJ to help us receive the compensation package,” the two pleaded.

Legal protection of the labor rights of pregnant and lactating women

The Constitution of Ghana, in Article 17, clauses 1 and 2, states: “All persons shall be equal before the law and that a person shall not be discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or status social or economic. .

The above provision affirms gender parity before the law, further disapproving discrimination of any kind.

The Labor Act 2003 (Acts 651) in Sections 55, 56 and 57 clearly dictates how pregnant and lactating women should be treated in the workplace with regards to workload, environment, time and remuneration.

An employer may not designate or employ a pregnant worker to perform any night work between ten o’clock in the evening and seven o’clock in the morning.

It also prohibits any form of overtime for a pregnant working woman or mother of a child under eight months of age unless the individual expressly consents to it.

Section 56 addresses the prohibition on assignment of pregnant workers. States how employers should not assign; permanently or temporarily, a pregnant worker to a job outside her place of residence after the fourth month of pregnancy, if the assignment, in the opinion of a doctor or midwife, is harmful to the health of the worker in question.

Section 57 of the Employment Act 2003 addresses the issues of Maternity Leave, Annual Leave and Sick Leave.

These and many other relevant legislations found expression in the clarifying ruling handed down by the Accra High Court in 2018.

Ghana ratified the 1948 ILO Convention C089, which deals with night work for women, in July 1959, and the 1952 Maternity Protection Convention 103 in 1986.

Through these legal frameworks, the right to work and family is protected by law.

The labor expert’s perspective

Austin Gamey, Human Resources and Labor Consultant, commenting on the delay in compensation for Grace Fosu and Thelma Hammond, noted how employers in the public sector and some in the private sector “lack the human resources capacity to understand the values ​​that the law maintains and, consequently, the court’s decision”, so he was not surprised that the opportunity for payment was delayed for so long.

He, however, stated that the issue needed to be revisited. “What can be done is that we have to address this issue. As a mediator and HR Consultant, we will make a voluntary appeal to the highest hierarchy of firefighters without charging the ladies so that they know our solidarity with women and we will issue a demand for payment plus interest because money has a certain value from the moment of decision so far, so there will have to be negotiation and agreement on a certain assessment so that they can be paid.

They will have to provide you with a payment plan and insist that you pay. If not, we send it to the working committee”, he suggested.

The labor expert said it was not only discriminatory but also uncivil and insensitive to terminate a woman’s employment because she was pregnant.

He said that Legislative Instrument 1,833 of 2007 provided guidelines for the implementation of layoffs for pregnant or breastfeeding working women.

“Women are the sole source of production, therefore anything that denigrates and minimizes their value is contrary to their sensibilities, the constitution and laws of Ghana. Therefore, it is clear that no employer is expected to attempt to discriminate against a woman because it is observed or alleged that the person collected seeds before applying for the job or shortly after obtaining the job.

“It is uncivil for any employer to try to make a woman suffer this type of problem,” he said.

He encouraged women workers in the public and private sectors to submit written complaints to the Labor Commission for redress if they suffered a similar fate as male employees.

“As an employer, if you identify that the worker you hired, within about six months, after a year, is pregnant and therefore wants to terminate the employment relationship, it is discriminatory, it is not reasonable… there is nothing that prevent such a woman from being employed, which is why labor legislation made it possible to create a National Labor Commission to allow such female workers to report to them for resolution.

“They can also appeal to other bodies such as CHRAJ, a private mediator, a judge or the courts…”, he said.

Compensation in dispute

The Ghana News Agency asked the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) the reason for the delay in compensation.

A CHRAJ lawyer who is aware of the case, who did not want to be identified, disclosed in a phone call that the state, through the Attorney General of the Republic, is in court to possibly overturn the previous decision to pay the package to Grace and Thelma.

The lawyer further explained that the situation arose from the fact that the State, through the court, having facilitated reinstatement, promotion, payment of lost salaries and benefits, had not considered it necessary to pay compensation, and had therefore initiated a movement to annul the decision previous court.

Thelma and Grace still have some mountains to climb on their long road to justice.

Even the State is not convinced of their right to the compensation they need to feel human again.

The diligent innocent women still climb ladders, handle hoses and squirt water to put out the fire, but they may lose the fight for deserved compensation.

GNA