1. Maternity protection policies of ILO Country level implementation Challenges and opportunities
Maryse Arendt - Initiativ Liewensufank GIFA Geneva Infant Feeding Association
International Baby Food Action Network IBFAN
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2. What is ILO?
Founded in 1919
ILO is the International Labour Organization
ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
ILO brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of 187 member States,
This only tripartite U.N. agency set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work
for all women and men.
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3. Maternity protection has two aims
to preserve the health of the mother and her newborn;
to provide job and income security
- protection from dismissal and discrimination, the right to resume work after leave,
- maintenance of wages/incomes during leave
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4. Why is MP needed
Pregnancy and maternity are vulnerable time for working women and their families.
Expectant and nursing mothers require special protection to prevent harm to their and their infants' health.
They need adequate time to give birth, to recover, and to breastfeed their children and take care of them.
MP not only ensures a woman's equal access to employment, it also ensures the continuation of often vital income which is necessary for the well-being and security of her entire family.
Protection from job discrimination is a precondition for achieving genuine equality for men and women
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5. If women would leave their jobs because of birth, breastfeeding and family responsibilities
Loss of workforce – countries and employers need this workforce!
Loss of skills
loss of economic invest in education
Loss of economic security for the women
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6. ILO Conventions on Maternity Protection
Convention 3 of 1919 (13 Jun 1921)
Convention 103 of 1952 (07 Sep 1955)
Convention 183 and Recommendation No. 191 of 2000 (07 Feb 2002)
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7. Convention 3
12 weeks (6 + 6)
paid benefits sufficient for the full and healthy maintenance of herself and her child, out of (public funds or a system of insurance)
Protection of dismissal during leave
allowed half an hour twice a day when BF
34 ratifications
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8. Convention 103 Range of protected women extended
12 weeks (not less than 6 weeks after)
paid benefits sufficient for the full and healthy maintenance of herself and her child in accordance with a suitable standard of living. Not less than two-thirds of the woman's previous earnings
Medical benefits
Protection of dismissal during leave
allowed half an hour twice a day when BF to be counted as working hours and remunerated
41 ratifications
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9. Convention 183 Range of protected women extended
No discrimination based on maternity
14 weeks (not less than 6 weeks after)
paid benefits to maintain herself and her child in proper conditions of health and with a suitable standard of living.
Not less than two-thirds of the woman's previous earnings
Medical benefits extended
Protection of dismissal during leave and right to return
woman not meeting conditions for cash benefits shall be entitled to adequate benefits out of social assistance funds
allowed breastfeeding time to be counted as working hours and remunerated
32 ratifications (latest Peru and Dominican republic)
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10. Five core elements of maternity protection:
Convention No. 183 and Recommendation No. 191 (2000)
maternity leave: the woman’s right to a period of rest from work in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period;
cash and medical benefits: the mother’s right to cash benefits during her absence for maternity and health care related to pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care;
health protection at the workplace for the mother and unborn child during pregnancy, as well as during breastfeeding;
employment protection and non-discrimination: guarantee of the woman’s employment security and the right to return after her maternity leave to the same job or an equivalent one with the same pay after leave. Moreover, a woman cannot be discriminated against while at work or while searching for work because of her reproductive role;
breastfeeding arrangements to help workers breastfeed or express milk at the workplace.
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11. Recommendation No. 191
Further proposals come in a Recommendation added to the convention
This recommendation replaces the R095 from 1952
Leave of 18 weeks
Full amount of previous earnings
Broader definition of medical benefits
Leave considered as period of service for the determination of rights.
Frequency and length of nursing breaks to be adapted to particular needs.
Breastfeeding facilities at the workplace or near by
Protection from health hazards at work during pregnancy and breastfeeding
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12. Find out if it is possible to make it a fundamental convention
Status of C183 on MP
Not a fundamental or core convention
Not a governance priority
It is a technical convention
Find out if it is possible to make it a fundamental convention
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13. Night work
P089 - Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948
No night work for women workers during a period before and after childbirth of at least 16 weeks.
allow for the lifting of this prohibition at the express request of the woman worker concerned on condition that neither her health nor that of her child will endangered 5 ratifications
C089 - Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised)
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14. Other conventions 1 C097 - Migration for Employment Convention 1949
to immigrants lawfully within its territory, treatment no less favourable than that of its own nationals: social security, family allowances 49 ratifications
C149 - Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977
Nurses shall enjoy conditions at least equivalent to those of other workers in the country with regard to ….., educational leave, maternity leave, sick leave, and social security. 41 ratifications
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15. Other conventions 2
C156 Workers with Family Responsibilities 1981(1983)
without conflict between their employment and family responsibilities
No discrimination, applies to men and women
develop or promote community services, public or private, such as child-care and family services and facilities 44 ratifications
C184 - Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention 2001 (2003)
Measures to be taken that the special needs of women agricultural workers are taken into account in relation to pregnancy, breastfeeding and reproductive health.
This does not cover subsistence farming 16 Ratifications
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16. Other conventions 3
C189 - Domestic Workers (DW) Convention, 2011 and Recommendation No. 201
DW who care for families and households, must have the same basic labour rights as those available to others workers 23 ratifications.
C110 - Plantations Convention, 1958 and its Protocol of 1982
Afford protection to plantation workers in respect of ….medical care, maternity protection 12 ratifications
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17. Other conventions 4 C177 - Home Work Convention, 1996
To promote equality of treatment between homeworkers and other wage earners in relation to…. maternity protection. 10 ratifications
C169 - Indigenous and Tribal Peoples 1989
Workers belonging to these peoples are not subjected to working conditions hazardous to their health, in particular through exposure to pesticides or other toxic substances; ratifications
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18. Other recommendations
R204 - Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015
Progressively extend in law and in practice, to all workers in the informal economy, social security, maternity protection….
R123 Employment (Women with Family Responsibilities) 1965
This applies to men and women workers with responsibilities to their children, where such responsibilities restrict their possibilities of preparing for, entering, participating in or advancing in economic activity
leave of absence illness of child , parental leave for both parents, flexible working hours
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19. Resources for ILO implementation 1
in English , French , Spanish , Chinese  and Russian (forthcoming)
Very comprehensive,
for self study or training
gives a lot of background information in 3 sections and 15 modules
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20. Resources for ILO implementation 2
Available in french and english
Drafted by the coalition that worked on C183
Common project of IBFAN, ILCA, Linkages and WABA
Published in 2007 but Still a good ressource for advocacy and implementation
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21. Resources for ILO implementation 3
Leaflet and booklets developed by IBFAN Africa
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22. Other resources on working and breastfeeding
Report of a symposium organized by WABA in 2015 with participants from diverse backgrounds and continents
Contains presentations, reports of discussion rounds and the
Framework for Action on Contemporary Solutions to an Age-old challenge: Breastfeeding and Work
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23. Resources from ILO Publication of ILO in 2014
Overview of maternity, paternity and parental leaves in the world
It gives an overview on maternity protection in 185 countries and territories.
A majority of countries have taken action even if they don’t met C183
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24. Joint ILO-UNICEF working paper
Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda
Published in pages
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25. Implementation of MP Published in 2015 Results of WBTi
Detailed results from 57 countries
Countries failing to enforce MP
Room for improvement
More Data: ILO database
State of MP by country Chart from WABA 2015
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26. Beyond maternity protection
2010 publication
Presents diverse workplace initiatives
Presents case studies with a lot of practical details.
For policy-makers and workplace partners looking for practical solutions for helping working parents with their childcare needs.
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27. ILO follow-up
Periodic review: MS to examine periodically, in consultation with the representative organizations of employers and workers, the appropriateness of extending the period of leave or of increasing the cash benefits
Database: The ILO webpages provides a picture of the regulatory environment of working time, minimum wages and maternity protection in more than 100 countries around the world.
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28. Thank you for your attention! Foto
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