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Peru court backs drunken worker Peru court backs 'drunk' worker
(about 10 hours later)
Peru's highest court has ruled that employees cannot be fired for turning up to work drunk. Peru's highest court has ruled that a worker who was dismissed for allegedly being drunk at work should not have been sacked and should be reinstated.
The Peruvian government has criticised the constitutional tribunal's ruling as setting a dangerous legal precedent. The judgement by the Constitutional Court said the man, a street cleaner, merely had alcohol on his breath.
According to the judgement, sacking a worker because he is drunk is disproportionate and unreasonable. The ruling was criticised by the prime minister for setting a precedent, but the judges said it was a one-off.
The court said a caretaker employed by a local authority in a suburb of Lima should be reinstated after being sacked for turning up to work drunk. In many Latin American countries, smelling of alcohol at work can be grounds for dismissal.
According to the seven judges who make up Peru's highest judicial authority, the sacking of Pablo Cayo was excessive because he had not been violent or rude and had carried out his work as usual. The seven judges who make up Peru's highest judicial authority ruled that the sacking of Pablo Cayo, who worked in a suburb of Lima, had been excessive and that he should be reinstated.
The judgment, although non-binding, has prompted debate amongst lawyers and dismay for the government. 'Attended wake'
Peru's Labour Minister, Jorge Villasante, criticised the ruling saying it could set a bad example for other workers while some lawyers have pointed out it goes against a Peruvian law prohibiting drunkenness in the workplace. The judgment has prompted debate amongst lawyers, and criticism from government ministers.
But one of the judges in the case, Fernando Calle, said the court would not revise its decision and that the caretaker, who was sacked almost five years ago, had the right to due process. Peru's Labour Minister, Jorge Villasante, said the ruling could set a bad example for other workers, while some lawyers have pointed out it goes against a Peruvian law prohibiting drunkenness in the workplace.
I didn't turn up drunk, just smelling of alcohol Pablo Cayo
Prime Minister Yehude Simon said the ruling was "shameful".
But one of the judges, Fernando Calle, said the court would not revise its decision and that Mr Cayo, who was sacked almost five years ago, had the right to due process.
He pointed out that the ruling did not set a precedent as the case was a one-off.
Another judge, Carlos Mesia, also defended the ruling, saying that under the law, workers could be sacked if they regularly turned up to work drunk, which was not the case with Mr Cayo.
Mr Cayo told Peruvian media that the night before he was sacked he had attended a wake.
"I didn't turn up drunk, just smelling of alcohol," he said.