Former board member of the state joint-stock company "Latvijas Dzelzceļš" (LDz) Martins Kengis has resigned amid employee complaints about his behavior, which they considered disrespectful and humiliating, public media reports.
Kengis's subordinates have turned to the State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) and the Ombudsman’s Office.
Kengis started working in the board of LDz in July last year after winning a competition among 32 candidates and has worked for a year and four months. His departure coincided with the consideration of applications regarding mobbing and bossing by Kengis, which were submitted to a specially created commission at LDz.
The LDz board received the relevant application on October 10, however, employees had previously sought help from the SLI multiple times since January: the first application was registered on January 22. In total, the inspectorate received 11 complaints, two of which were collective.
The head of the regional SLI, Chief State Inspector Baiba Šilberga, noted that the complaints concerned both private disagreements and extremely unacceptable situations, including instances of physical pressure. The episodes described in the complaints are related to humiliation, offensive comments (including those based on age), and disproportionate demands on employees.
As a result of the investigation, the SLI established that the working conditions indeed did not meet standards - employees were subjected to insults and their mental health was at risk. The inspectorate drew the employer's attention to the unacceptability of such conditions. The SLI also notes a growing trend - an increase in reports of emotionally unhealthy working conditions, especially in public administration and local government institutions.
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