Madrid councillor cites motherhood in aide’s dismissal

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/16/madrid-councillor-dismisses-aide-mother

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In his own words, she was a great employee. But as Madrid city councillor Ángel Donesteve recently explained to his colleagues, she had one issue that left him with little choice but to dismiss her.

“I was delighted when she became a mother a year ago, [but] right now I prefer to have maximum performance,” said the People’s party politician at a recent council meeting. Noting that he had only eight months left until the next elections, he added: “She would rather balance her personal and family life, which I praise, but I need maximum performance and as many work hours as possible.”

Donesteve, who sits on the council’s family and social affairs committee, commended the woman as one of his top workers. “She’s an honest public servant who has done her job well,” he said. “Thanks to her, the administrative output of the legal department has increased by 50%.”

But the councillor, who represents the city’s Hortaleza district, pointed to his constituents in justifying his push for efficiency. “I feel that the residents deserve complete dedication.”

Madrid’s mayor, Ana Botella, said she was “repulsed” by her party colleague’s comments, made last week and publicised on Thursday. “They’re offensive to me as a mayor and even more so as a woman,” she said.

The Socialists went further: “He should either clearly apologise or think about resigning,” said their spokesman Jaime Lissavetzky.

Donesteve did not reply to a request for an interview. His former employee has taken medical leave, reportedly suffering from anxiety after her dismissal, and will probably be placed in another municipal job when she returns, city officials said.

It is the second time in as many weeks that comments on motherhood have grabbed headlines in Spain, after Mónica Oriol, president of the security services firm Seguriber-Umano, said she preferred hiring women under 25 or over 45 to avoid the “problem” of pregnant employees.

Oriol, the first woman to lead one of Spain’s top business associations, later apologised for the remarks and said they had been taken out of context.