REP Trade Union Helped Foreman In Reducing Amount Of Damage By Half

The independent trade union has won another victory.

On September 13, the cassation instance of the Homel Regional Court reduced by 50% the amount of damage, collected from Mikalai Minkou, a foreman of the Homel Road Building Department No. 10, Homel Viasna writes.

The trade union member was represented in the regional court by REP trade union representative in Homel region Viktar Kazlou.

We remind that on June 22, the Mozyr region court recovered from foreman Mikalai Minkou the cost of the Beltselecom cable, damaged when performing road works, in the amount of 1355 rubles. The legal labor inspector of the REP trade union, Leanid Sudalenka, set sights on reducing that sum by half, taking into account the provisions of Article 409 of the Labor Code (the degree and form of guilt, the specific circumstances of the damage, and the financial situation of the employee).

"The foreman has admitted his fault in damaging the cable, since he was performing road works without a Beltselecom representative, which is directly forbidden by the Internal regulations. However, he was doing all that on the direct order of his director, whom he could not disobey, because according to the duty regulations, he has to abide by the employer’s instructions," – the trade union lawyer wrote in the appeal to the regional court.

Mikalai Minkou works as a manufacturer of works, that is, a foreman, in the the Homel Road Building Department No. 10 of the Road Building Group -2 of Homel. About half a year ago, the brigade under his management was building a turnaround near Svetlahorsk, and the construction equipment damaged the Beltelecom cable.

Today the decision of the court of first instance has entered into legal force. Instead of almost 1.4 thousand rubles, the foreman will pay the employer only half of the amount claimed – less than 700 rubles.