Company fires, then rehires single mom ill with cancer

Company fires, then rehires single mom ill with cancer

B92 reported about the case on Thursday, after which the Labor Ministry announced that according to the country's labor laws, Petrovic enjoys no legal protection under these circumstances, while the company was within its rights not to renew her contract.

But Darko Bulatovic, the mayor of Nis, a town in southern Serbia, on Friday told a news conference that the contract would be extended after all.

Bulatovic told Tanjug that he received a letter from the company stating they were "unaware of Violeta's circumstances and her specific situation."

Also on Friday, Petrovic said she was received by the mayor earlier in the day when she was told he would "do all he can to help and resolve the situation."

She thanked Bulatovic and added that Yura's management met with him first, while she and a labor inspector talked with the mayor later in the day.

Petrovic also revealed that "the whole case has reached Minister (of Labor, Social and Veteran Affairs) Aleksandar Vulin," who told her he was "doing everything to help, and make sure she is protected."

Petrovic, who was diagnosed with cancer in September, supports herself and her 12-year-old son with the salary she earns working at the Yura Corporation plant. She recently had to pay for a course of chemotherapy out of her own pocket, as the Nis hospital where she is receiving treatment had run out of the necessary medication.

When the story about the case broke, many political parties reacted mostly to ask for Vulin and the government to be held responsible for their "benevolent" attitude toward foreign investors. At the same time, the Alliance of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia offered to provide Petrovic with free legal aid.