Gabriela Rodriguez has worked at Devon Law Firm for two years.
A British cleaner has been fired from a top London law firm after eating leftover tuna sandwiches found in a conference room, the Financial Times reports. guardian. Gabriela Rodriguez, a woman from Ecuador who has worked at Devon Law Firm for two years, is taking legal action against them.
United World Voices, which represents the rights of migrant workers, said the woman was fired days before Christmas last year after contractor Total Clean received complaints that leftover sandwiches had not been returned. They confirmed that Ms Rodríguez had eaten a sandwich worth €1.50 (approximately Rs 134) which she thought she would throw away after the lawyers’ meeting. According to legal affairs website RollOnFriday, the woman was fired for “taking client property without authorization or reasonable excuse.” The union claimed that demanding Ms. Rodriguez’s termination was an act of discrimination and claimed that had she not been Latino with limited English proficiency, the company would not have complained about her, leading to her firing.
In order to protest her firing and have her reinstated, several union workers gathered outside the law firm’s offices on February 14, carrying “100 cans of tuna, 300 hand-wrapped sandwiches, several heart-shaped helium balloons, and money for Rodri Gus’ Love Letter.”
Speaking to the outlet, Ms Rodriguez said it was “common practice” for staff to eat leftovers for lunch. “On a normal day, there would be some sandwiches left in the cafeteria after lawyers’ meetings; a lunchtime buffet was a common practice. It was almost time for me to get off work – a quarter past two in the afternoon – and I ‘I got Make a serving and put it in the refrigerator. A week later, I got a call 15 minutes before get off work. I was then suspended without pay pending further investigation,” she told the Guardian.
Petros Elia, secretary-general of United World Voices, told the media, “Every day across the country cleaners are fired for trivial and what we consider to be discriminatory reasons. Many say they feel they Being treated ‘like the dirt they clean'” Gabriella is one of them. We will speak out and stand united against any employer – even one as powerful as Devon Law Firm. Just because we clean up their dirt, doesn’t mean they can treat us like dirt. We demand respect and dignity and equality, no matter what language we speak, our country of origin or the color of our skin. ” She added that they would take both companies to an employment tribunal on the grounds of racial discrimination.
A spokesperson for Total Clean told the outlet that the information provided by the former employee was “misleading and inaccurate.” They said: “It is important for us to maintain the integrity of our staff and services and ensure we deal appropriately with any behavior that undermines the hard work and reputation of our talented team, whose conduct is impeccable. Trust and honesty are vital. “All steps taken were in compliance with UK employment law and followed appropriate investigative and disciplinary procedures. We will have no further comment on this matter. “
In addition, the London law firm said it had not made a “formal complaint” against Ms Rodriguez and had not asked Total Clean to take any action. “Total Clean conducted its own investigation and the decision to fire Gabriela was made without any input or influence from Devon. This is a private matter between Total Clean and Gabriela, but we have informed Total Clean To be clear, we would not object – because if Total Clean changed its position, which we have never done – to allow Gabriela to come and work in our factory,” the company told the outlet.
