Russia: Dairy boss threatens to sack women who have abortions

The head of a Russian dairy company has said the company would dismss Russian Orthodox Christian employees who have abortions or refuse a religious marriage.

Vassili Boiko-Veliki, president of Russkoe Moloko, said those women who had had abortions, or chose to have one in the future, would face dismissal, BBC News Online reports.

‘Abortion is the murder of someone,’ he told the radio station, Ekho Moskvy. ‘We do not want to work with murderers’.

Mr Boiko-Veliki was also quoted as saying that newly-hired employees who had been married in civil ceremonies would be given three months to have a religious wedding.

Even employees from other religions would be obliged to receive instruction about Russian Orthodox culture, he said.

According to Ekho Moskvy, Mr Boiko-Veliki has said that the record heatwave that hit Russia in recent weeks was divine retribution for sins committed in the past.

Critics said the rules violated labour laws and the constitution.

Russian dairy to sack women who have abortions. BBC News Online, 12 August 2010