Age Discrimination:
Canadian Employee of The Embassy of Spain - Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dismissed and Obliged to Retire at 65

On October 5th 2007, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain terminated the employment of a locally engaged Canadian worker on her 65th birthday.

This is an extremely serious situation as it violates the Canadian Human Rights Legislation and Ontario Bill 211 of December 12th 2006, given that there is no mandatory retirement age in Ontario, Canada.

The fact that the employee, Ms. Gloria Larue de Larrinaga, worked as a trilingual translator at the Embassy of Spain in Ottawa uninterruptedly for the past 44 years and that she had been complimented on the excellent quality of her work further aggravates the situation.

For these reasons the representatives of the Spanish General Workers' Union, Ottawa-Montreal chapter, have called an informative event – demonstration, to be held in front of the offices of the Embassy of Spain on Monday, October 15th, 2007, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm at 74 Stanley Avenue -off Sussex Drive, across from the old Ottawa City Hall -. Ms. Larue de Larrinaga was verbally informed last Friday afternoon October 5th that in accordance with Canadian legislation, the Embassy had received instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Madrid to ask her to leave as they considered her as retired.

She was instructed to gather her personal effects, hand in her office keys and leave the premises. In spite of her numerous requests, she was told that she could not be given a written document to confirm that she was considered retired.

Publicado 12 de octubre 2007

Por: Unión General de Trabajadores Federación del Exterior.