Dismissal: the reason is the request for parental leave

A woman who asked for a parental leave had been fired. The woman denounced the well-known chocolate and ice cream company Venchi in Florence through a union. A real case that erupted in a media storm. The woman, Alekxandra Bullari, 37 years old and mother of a child, is said to have received the company’s refusal to get a work permit to go abroad.

More precisely, he is said to have requested parental leave to take care of his son and to stay in Albania for a few days. Here’s the mother-in-law with terminal cancer. His leave request was not accepted by the company he works for, which eventually got it laid off.

Given the situation, I have made the request to be able to stay there for another week, living so far away for us is not easy for us to move and we wanted him to stay with the child for a while. They told me it was an unjustified absence and they did not accept it. In the past, I’d often asked for parental leave five days in advance without anyone having a problem with it. This time, however, the resignation came so abruptly.

Alexandra Bullari

Now the CGIL union, which it has turned to, will defend it in a potentially open trial for: unfair dismissal. Another sensational point of the case is that it is likely that the woman was fired for being punished for undertaking the crimetrade union activism.

We find the company’s choice unfair and disproportionate to this employee, who has never received a disciplinary dispute since 2015 when she was hired, on the contrary, she has repeatedly received praise from the company and also plays unrecognized roles of responsibility. A technical interpretation of the collective labor agreement that we believe is incorrect. But aside from the technical issue, the insensitivity shown towards the employee and mother of a small child is unacceptable.

Gianni Filindassi, union representative for Filcams CGIL