BOSSES are flouting equal opportunity laws by sacking thousands of women each year because they fall pregnant.

That is the view of Swindon MP Julia Drown who has called on the Government to take urgent action to stamp out sex discrimination.

She said she was shocked by research carried out by an equality watchdog which found that up to 30,000 pregnant women are either sacked, made redundant or are treated so badly that they feel they have to leave their jobs each year.

In a survey by the Equal Opportunities Commission of 1,000 women who had been pregnant at work, almost half said that they experienced some form of discrimination.

A fifth said they were disadvantaged financially due to discrimination. Five per cent told the watchdog they were put under pressure to hand in their notice after announcing their pregnancy.

Ms Drown, MP for South Swindon , said the figures were a disgrace for a modern country.

She has signed a high profile parliamentary petition demanding the Government does more to make businesses comply with equal opportunity legislation.

She said: "There is an awful number of people who feel they have been discriminated against at work.

"The legislation is there to protect pregnant women.

"But I think there is a situation where many women are afraid to come forward and do not think the protection will be there for them. It is always hard to put in a complaint and go through with a tribunal.

"I would like to see the Government do more to inform women that there is help out there and that they should feel they can raise these issues."

The early day motion has won cross-party support from 83 MPs.

But Swindon Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dennis Grant said the problem had been overblown.

"It's a grossly exaggerated factor and these cases are very much in the minority," he said.

"The laws surrounding pregnancy are quite strict and difficult to avoid, and nobody in their right mind would get rid of a worthwhile employee just because she was pregnant. In the main the majority don't consider it."

EOC chairwoman, Julie Mellor, said: "We need urgent action from the Government to provide more information and support for pregnant employees and their employers."

An estimated 441,000 women work while pregnant in the UK each year.