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RF_WH_6_B_SUDHA
Maternity Protection at Work
A Breastfeeding Perspective
TLO Convention no 183 and Recommendation no. 191
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
SECTION
Tools for Action
II
•
Texts of C183 and R191
•
Text of Cl84
•
Women, Work and Breastfeeding: Everyone Benefits!
The Mother-friendly Workplace Initiative Action Folder
•
Innocenti Declaration
•
Steps towards a People-friendly Workplace
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WHA Decisions on Infant and Young Child Feeding
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UNICEF Statement to the ILO Conference 2000
•
WHO Statement to the ILO Conference 2000
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Every Woman's Right to Breastfeed
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Breastfeeding: Who Benefits? Who Pays?
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Maternity Entitlements that fully support Breastfeeding
•
Breastfeeding and the Workplace
•
Fourth World Conference on Women 1995, Beijing
with a Focus on Maternity Protection at Work
Platform for Action
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE
Convention 184
CONVENTION CONCERNING
SAFETY AND HEALTH IN AGRICULTURE
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International
Labour Office, and having met in its 89th Session on 5 June 2001, and
Noting the principles embodied in the relevant international labour Conventions and
Recommendations, in particular the Plantations Convention and Recommen
dation, 1958, the Employment Injury Benefits Convention and Recommendation,
1964, the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention and Recommendation,
1969, the Occupational Safety and Health Convention and Recommen
dation, 1981, the Occupational Health Services Convention and Rec
ommendation, 1985, and the Chemicals Convention and Recommendation, 1990,
and
Stressing the need for a coherent approach to agriculture and taking into
consideration the wider framework of the principles embodied in other ILO
instruments applicable to the sector, in particular the Freedom of Association
and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, the Right to Organise
and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, the Minimum Age Convention,
1973, and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, and
Noting the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises
and Social Policy as well as the relevant codes of practice, in particular the code
of practice on recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases,
1996, and the code of practice on safety and health in forestry work, 1998, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to safety and
health in agriculture, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international
Convention;
adopts this twenty-first day of June of the year two thousand and one the following
Convention, which may be cited as the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention,
2001.
I.
Scope
Article 1
For the purpose of this Convention the term “agriculture” covers agricultural and
forestry activities carried out in agricultural undertakings including crop production,
forestry activities, animal husbandry and insect raising, the primary processing of
agricultural and animal products by or on behalf of the operator of the undertaking as
well as the use and maintenance of machinery, equipment, appliances, tools, and
agricultural installations, including any process, storage, operation or transportation in
an agricultural undertaking, which are directly related to agricultural production.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Convention the term “agriculture” does not cover:
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(a)
(b)
subsistence farming;
industrial processes that use agricultural products as raw material and the related
services; and
(c)
the industrial exploitation of forests.
Article 3
1.
The competent authority of a Member which ratifies the Convention, after
consulting the representative organizations of employers and workers concerned:
(a)
may exclude certain agricultural undertakings or limited categories of workers
from the application of this Convention or certain provisions thereof, when special
problems of a substantial nature arise; and
(b)
shall, in the case of such exclusions, make plans to cover progressively all
undertakings and all categories of workers.
2.
Each Member shall list, in the first report on the application of the Convention
submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization,
any exclusions made in pursuance of paragraph 1(a) of this Article giving the reasons
for such exclusion. In subsequent reports, it shall describe the measures taken with a
view to extending progressively the provisions of the Convention to the workers
concerned.
II.
General provisions
Article 4
1.
In the light of national conditions and practice and after consulting the
representative organizations of employers and workers concerned, Members shall
formulate, carry out and periodically review a coherent national policy on safety and
health in agriculture. This policy shall have the aim of preventing accidents and injury
to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of work, by eliminating,
minimizing or controlling hazards in the agricultural working environment.
2.
To this end, national laws and regulations shall:
(a)
designate the competent authority responsible for the implementation of the policy
and for the enforcement of national laws and regulations on occupational safety
and health in agriculture;
(b)
specify the rights and duties of employers and workers with respect to occupational
safety and health in agriculture; and
(c)
establish mechanisms of inter-sectoral coordination among relevant authorities and
bodies for the agricultural sector and define their functions and responsibilities,
taking into account their complementarity and national conditions and practices.
3.
The designated competent authority shall provide for corrective measures and
appropriate penalties in accordance with national laws and regulations, including, where
appropriate, the suspension or restriction of those agricultural activities which pose an
imminent risk to the safety and health of workers, until the conditions giving rise to the
suspension or restriction have been corrected.
Article 5
1.
Members shall ensure that an adequate and appropriate system of inspection for
agricultural workplaces is in place and is provided with adequate means.
2.
In accordance with national legislation, the competent authority may entrust
certain inspection functions at the regional or local level, on an auxiliary basis, to
appropriate government services, public institutions, or private institutions under
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government control, or may associate these services or institutions with the exercise of
such functions.
III.
Preventive and protective measures
GENERAL
Article 6
1.
In so far as is compatible with national laws and regulations, the employer shall
have a duty to ensure the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to the
work.
2.
National laws and regulations or the competent authority shall provide that
whenever in an agricultural workplace two or more employers undertake activities, or
whenever one or more employers and one or more self-employed persons undertake
activities, they shall cooperate in applying the safety and health requirements. Where
appropriate, the competent authority shall prescribe general procedures for this
collaboration.
Article 7
In order to comply with the national policy referred to in Article 4 of the
Convention, national laws and regulations or the competent authority shall provide,
taking into account the size of the undertaking and the nature of its activity, that the
employer shall:
(a)
carry out appropriate risk assessments in relation to the safety and health of
workers and, on the basis of these results, adopt preventive and protective
measures to ensure that under all conditions of their intended use, all agricultural
activities, workplaces, machinery, equipment, chemicals, tools and processes under
the control of the employer are safe and comply with prescribed safety and health
standards;
ensure that adequate and appropriate training and comprehensible instructions on
safety and health and any necessary guidance or supervision are provided to
workers in agriculture, including information on the hazards and risks associated
with their work and the action to be taken for their protection, taking into account
their level of education and differences in language; and
(c)
take immediate steps to stop any operation where there is an imminent and serious
danger to safety and health and to evacuate workers as appropriate.
(b)
Article 8
Workers in agriculture shall have the right:
(a)
to be informed and consulted on safety and health matters including risks from new
technologies;
(b)
to participate in the application and review of safety and health measures and, in
accordance with national law and practice, to select safety and health
representatives and representatives in safety and health committees; and
1.
(c)
to remove themselves from danger resulting from their work activity when they
have reasonable justification to believe there is an imminent and serious risk to
their safety and health and so inform their supervisor immediately. They shall not
be placed at any disadvantage as a result of these actions.
2.
Workers in agriculture and their representatives shall have the duty to comply
with the prescribed safety and health measures and to cooperate with employers in order
for the latter to comply with their own duties and responsibilities.
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3.
The procedures for the exercise of the rights and duties referred to in paragraphs
1 and 2 shaU be established by national laws and regulations, the competent authority,
collective agreements or other appropriate means.
4 Where the provisions of this Convention are implemented as provided for by
paragraph 3, there shall be prior consultation with the representative organizations of
employers and workers concerned.
MACHINERY SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS
Article 9
I. National laws and regulations or the competent authority shall prescribe that
machinery, equipment, including personal protective equipment, appliances and hand
tools used in agriculture comply with national or other recognized safety and health
standards and be appropriately installed, maintained and safeguarded.
2. The competent authority shall take measures to ensure that manufacturers,
importers and suppliers comply with the standards referred to in paragraph 1 and
provide adequate and appropriate information, including hazard warning signs, in the
official language or languages of the user country, to the users and, on request, to the
competent authority.
3.
Employers shall ensure that workers receive and understand the safety and
health information supplied by manufacturers, importers and suppliers.
Article 10
National laws and regulations shall prescribe that agricultural machinery and
equipment shall:
(a)
only be used for work for which they are designed, unless a use outside of the
initial design purpose has been assessed as safe in accordance with national law
and practice and, in particular, shall not be used for human transportation, unless
designed or adapted so as to carry persons; and
(b)
be operated by trained and competent persons, in accordance with national law and
practice.
HANDLING AND TRANSPORT OF MATERIALS
Article 11
1. The competent authority, after consulting the representative organizations of
employers and workers concerned, shall establish safety and health requirements for the
handling and transport of materials, particularly on manual handling. Such requirements
shall be based on risk assessment, technical standards and medical opinion, taking
account of all the relevant conditions under which the work is performed in accordance
with national law and practice.
2. Workers shall not be required or permitted to engage in the manual handling or
transport of a load which by reason of its weight or nature is likely to jeopardize their
safety or health.
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J H
SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS
Article 12
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(a)
there is an appropriate national system or any other system approved by the
competent authority establishing specific criteria for the importation, classification,
packaging and labelling of chemicals used in agriculture and for their banning or
restriction;
(b) those who produce, import, provide, sell, transfer, store or dispose of chemicals
used in agriculture comply with national or other recognized safety and health
standards, and provide adequate and appropriate information to the users in the
appropriate official language or languages of the country and, on request, to the
competent authority; and
(c)
there is a suitable system for the safe collection, recycling and disposal of chemical
waste, obsolete chemicals and empty containers of chemicals so as to avoid their
use for other purposes and to eliminate or minimize the risks to safety and health
and to the environment.
Article 13
1. National laws and regulations or the competent authority shall ensure that there
are preventive and protective measures for the use of chemicals and handling of
chemical waste at the level of the undertaking.
2.
(a)
These measures shall cover, inter alia:
the preparation, handling, application, storage and transportation of chemicals;
(b) agricultural activities leading to the dispersion of chemicals;
(c)
the maintenance, repair and cleaning of equipment and containers for chemicals;
and
(d)
the disposal of empty containers and the treatment and disposal of chemical waste
and obsolete chemicals.
ANIMAL HANDLING AND PROTECTION AGAINST BIOLOGICAL RISKS
Article 14
National laws and regulations shall ensure that risks such as those of infection,
allergy or poisoning are prevented or kept to a minimum when biological agents are
handled, and activities involving animals, livestock and stabling areas, comply with
national or other recognized health and safety standards.
AGRICULTURAL INSTALLATIONS
Article 15
The construction, maintenance and repairing of agricultural installations shall be in
conformity with national laws, regulations and safety and health requirements.
IV.
Other provisions
YOUNG WORKERS AND HAZARDOUS WORK
Article 16
1. The minimum age for assignment to work in agriculture which by its nature or
the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to harm the safety and health of
young persons shall not be less than 18 years.
2. The types of employment or work to which paragraph 1 applies shall be
determined by national laws and regulations or by the competent authority, after
consultation with the representative organizations of employers and workers concerned.
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3.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1, national laws or regulations or the competent
authority may, after consultation with the representative organizations of employers and
workers concerned, authorize the performance of work referred to in that paragraph as
from 16 years of age on condition that appropriate prior training is given and the safety
and health of the young workers are fully protected.
TEMPORARY AND SEASONAL WORKERS
Article 17
Measures shall be taken to ensure that temporary and seasonal workers receive the
same safety and health protection as that accorded to comparable permanent workers in
agriculture.
WOMEN WORKERS
Article 18
Measures shall be taken to ensure that the special needs of women agricultural
workers are taken into account in relation to pregnancy, breastfeeding and reproductive
health.
WELFARE AND ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES
Article 19
National laws and regulations or the competent authority shall prescribe, after
consultation with the representative organizations of employers and workers concerned:
(a) the provision of adequate welfare facilities at no cost to the worker; and
(b) the minimum accommodation standards for workers who are required by the nature
of the work to live temporarily or permanently in the undertaking.
WORKING TIME ARRANGEMENTS
Article 20
Hours of work, night work and rest periods for workers in agriculture shall be in
accordance with national laws and regulations or collective agreements.
COVERAGE AGAINST OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND DISEASES
Article 21
1. In accordance with national law and practice, workers in agriculture shall be
covered by an insurance or social security scheme against fatal and non-fatal
occupational injuries and diseases, as well as against invalidity and other work-related
health risks, providing coverage at least equivalent to that enjoyed by workers in other
sectors.
2. Such schemes may either be part of a national scheme or take any other
appropriate form consistent with national law and practice.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 22
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the DirectorGeneral of the International Labour Office for registration.
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Article 23
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International
Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General
of the International Labour Office.
2. It shall come into force 12 months after the date on which the ratifications of
two Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3.
Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member 12 months
after the date on which its ratification has been registered.
Article 24
1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the
expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by
an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for
registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on
which it is registered.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the
year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound
for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the
expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.
Article 25
1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all
Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all ratifications
and acts of denunciation communicated by the Members of the Organization.
2. When notifying the Members of the Organization of the registration of the
second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall draw the attention
of the Members of the Organization to the date upon which the Convention shall come
into force.
Article 26
The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration in accordance with article 102
of the Charter of the United Nations, full particulars of all ratifications and acts of
denunciation registered by the Director-General in accordance with the provisions of the
preceding Articles.
Article 27
At such times as it may consider necessary, the Governing Body of the International
Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this
Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the
Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.
Article 28
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in
whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides —
(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure
involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the
provisions of Article 24 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have
come into force;
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(b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force, this Conven
tion shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content
for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.
Article 29
The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally
authoritative.
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE
Recommendation 191
RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING THE
REVISION OF THE MATERNITY PROTECTION
RECOMMENDATION, 1952
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office, and having met in its 88th Session on
30 May 2000, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to
maternity protection, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the
session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a
Recommendation supplementing the Maternity Protection
Convention, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”),
adopts this fifteenth day of June of the year two thousand the following
Recommendation, which may be cited as the Maternity Protection
Recommendation, 2000.
Maternity leave
1. (1) Members should endeavour to extend the period of maternity leave
referred to in Article 4 of the Convention to at least 18 weeks.
(2) Provision should be made for an extension of the maternity leave in the
event of multiple births.
(3) To the extent possible, measures should be taken to ensure that the
woman is entitled to choose freely the time at which she takes any noncompulsory portion of her maternity leave, before or after childbirth.
Benefits
2. Where practicable, and after consultation with the representative
organizations of employers and workers, the cash benefits to which a woman is
entitled during leave referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention should be
raised to the full amount of the woman’s previous eamings or of such of those
earnings as are taken into account for the purpose of computing benefits.
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3.
To the extent possible, the medical benefits provided for in Article 6,
paragraph 7, of the Convention should include:
(a)
care given in a doctor’s office, at home or in a hospital or other medical
establishment by a general practitioner or a specialist;
(b)
maternity care given by a qualified midwife or by another maternity service
at home or in a hospital or other medical establishment;
(c)
maintenance in a hospital or other medical establishment;
(d)
any necessary pharmaceutical and medical supplies, examinations and tests
prescribed by a medical practitioner or other qualified person; and
(e)
dental and surgical care.
Financing of benefits
4.
Any contribution due under compulsory social insurance providing
maternity benefits and any tax based upon payrolls which is raised for the
purpose of providing such benefits, whether paid by both the employer and the
employees or by the employer, should be paid in respect of the total number of
men and women employed, without distinction of sex.
Employment protection and non-discrimination
5.
A woman should be entitled to return to her former position or an
equivalent position paid at the same rate at the end of her leave referred to in
Article 5 of the Convention. The period of leave referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of
the Convention should be considered as a period of service for the determination
of her rights.
Health protection
6.
(1) Members should take measures to ensure assessment of any
workplace risks related to the safety and health of the pregnant or nursing woman
and her child. The results of the assessment should be made available to the
woman concerned.
(2)
In any of the situations referred to in Article 3 of the Convention or
where a significant risk has been identified under subparagraph (1) above,
measures should be taken to provide, on the basis of a medical certificate as
appropriate, an alternative to such work in the form of:
(a)
elimination of risk;
(b)
(c)
an adaptation of her conditions of work;
a transfer to another post, without loss of pay, when such an adaptation is
not feasible; or
(d)
paid leave, in accordance with national laws, regulations or practice, when
such a transfer is not feasible.
(3)
Measures referred to in subparagraph (2) should in particular be taken
in respect of:
(a)
arduous work involving the manual lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling of
loads;
(b)
work involving exposure to biological, chemical or physical agents which
represent a reproductive health hazard;
(c)
(d)
work requiring special equilibrium;
work involving physical strain due to prolonged periods of sitting or
standing, to extreme temperatures, or to vibration.
(4)
A pregnant or nursing woman should not be obliged to do night work if
a medical certificate declares such work to be incompatible with her pregnancy
or nursing.
(5)
The woman should retain the right to return to her job or an equivalent
job as soon as it is safe for her to do so.
(6)
A woman should be allowed to leave her workplace, if necessary, after
notifying her employer, for the purpose of undergoing medical examinations
relating to her pregnancy.
Breastfeeding mothers
7.
On production of a medical certificate or other appropriate certification
as determined by national law and practice, the frequency and length of nursing
breaks should be adapted to particular needs.
8.
Where practicable and with the agreement of the employer and the
woman concerned, it should be possible to combine the time allotted for daily
nursing breaks to allow a reduction of hours of work at the beginning or at the
end of the working day.
9.
Where practicable, provision should be made for the establishment of
facilities for nursing under adequate hygienic conditions at or near the workplace.
Related types of leave
10.
(1) In the case of the death of the mother before the expiry of postnatal
leave, the employed father of the child should be entitled to take leave of a
duration equal to the unexpired portion of the postnatal maternity leave.
(2) In the case of sickness or hospitalization of the mother after childbirth
and before the expiry of postnatal leave, and where the mother cannot look after
the child, the employed father of the child should be entitled to leave of a
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duration equal to the unexpired portion of the postnatal maternity leave, in
accordance with national law and practice, to look after the child.
(3) The employed mother or the employed father of the child should be
entitled to parental leave during a period following the expiry of maternity leave.
(4)
The period during which parental leave might be granted, the length of
the leave and other modalities, including the payment of parental benefits and the
use and distribution of parental leave between the employed parents, should be
determined by national laws or regulations or in any manner consistent with
national practice.
(5)
Where national law and practice provide for adoption, adoptive parents
should have access to the system of protection offered by the Convention,
especially regarding leave, benefits and employment protection.
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE
Convention 183
CONVENTION CONCERNING THE
REVISION OF THE MATERNITY PROTECTION
CONVENTION (REVISED), 1952
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office, and having met in its 88th Session on
30 May 2000, and
Noting the need to revise the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised),
1952, and the Maternity Protection Recommendation, 1952, in order
to further promote equality of all women in the workforce and the
health and safety of the mother and child, and in order to recognize
the diversity in economic and social development of Members, as
well as the diversity of enterprises, and the development of the
protection of maternity in national law and practice, and
Noting the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948), the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Beijing Declaration
and Platform for Action (1995), the International Labour
Organization’s Declaration on Equality of Opportunity and Treatment
for Women Workers (1975), the International Labour Organization’s
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its
Follow-up (1998), as well as the international labour Conventions and
Recommendations aimed at ensuring equality of opportunity and
treatment for men and women workers, in particular the Convention
concerning Workers with Family Responsibilities, 1981, and
Taking into account the circumstances of women workers and the need to
provide protection for pregnancy, which are the shared responsibility
of government and society, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the
revision of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952, and
Recommendation, 1952, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the
session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an
international Convention;
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adopts this fifteenth day of June of the year two thousand the following
Convention, which may be cited as the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000.
Scope
Article 1
For the purposes of this Convention, the term “woman” applies to any
female person without discrimination whatsoever and the term “child” applies to
any child without discrimination whatsoever.
Article 2
1. This Convention applies to all employed women, including those in
atypical forms of dependent work.
2. However, each Member which ratifies this Convention may, after
consulting the representative organizations of employers and workers concerned,
exclude wholly or partly from the scope of the Convention limited categories of
workers when its application to them would raise special problems of a
substantial nature.
3. Each Member which avails itself of the possibility afforded in the
preceding paragraph shall, in its first report on the application of the Convention
under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, list
the categories of workers thus excluded and the reasons for their exclusion. In its
subsequent reports, the Member shall describe the measures taken with a view to
progressively extending the provisions of the Convention to these categories.
Health protection
Article 3
Each Member shall, after consulting the representative organizations of
employers and workers, adopt appropriate measures to ensure that pregnant or
breastfeeding women are not obliged to perform work which has been
determined by the competent authority to be prejudicial to the health of the
mother or the child, or where an assessment has established a significant risk to
the mother’s health or that of her child.
Maternity leave
Article 4
1. On production of a medical certificate or other appropriate certification,
as determined by national law and practice, stating the presumed date of
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childbirth, a woman to whom this Convention applies shall be entitled to a period
of maternity leave of not less than 14 weeks.
2.
The length of the period of leave referred to above shall be specified by
each Member in a declaration accompanying its ratification of this Convention.
3.
Each Member may subsequently deposit with the Director-General of the
International Labour Office a further declaration extending the period of
maternity leave.
4.
With due regard to the protection of the health of the mother and that of
the child, maternity leave shall include a period of six weeks’ compulsory leave
after childbirth, unless otherwise agreed at the national level by the government
and the representative organizations of employers and workers.
5.
The prenatal portion of maternity leave shall be extended by any period
elapsing between the presumed date of childbirth and the actual date of
childbirth, without reduction in any compulsory portion of postnatal leave.
Leave in case of illness or complications
Article 5
On production of a medical certificate, leave shall be provided before or
after the maternity leave period in the case of illness, complications or risk of
complications arising out of pregnancy or childbirth. The nature and the
maximum duration of such leave may be specified in accordance with national
law and practice.
Benefits
Article 6
1.
Cash benefits shall be provided, in accordance with national laws and
regulations, or in any other manner consistent with national practice, to women
who are absent from work on leave referred to in Articles 4 or 5.
2.
Cash benefits shall be at a level which ensures that the woman can
maintain herself and her child in proper conditions of health and with a suitable
standard of living.
3.
Where, under national law or practice, cash benefits paid with respect to
leave referred to in Article 4 are based on previous eamings, the amount of such
benefits shall not be less than two-thirds of the woman’s previous eamings or of
such of those eamings as are taken into account for the purpose of computing
benefits.
4.
Where, under national law or practice, other methods are used to
determine the cash benefits paid with respect to leave referred to in Article 4, the
-4amount of such benefits shall be comparable to the amount resulting on average
from the application of the preceding paragraph.
5.
Each Member shall ensure that the conditions to qualify for cash benefits
can be satisfied by a large majority of the women to whom this Convention
applies.
6.
Where a woman does not meet the conditions to qualify for cash benefits
under national laws and regulations or in any other manner consistent with
national practice, she shall be entitled to adequate benefits out of social
assistance funds, subject to the means test required for such assistance.
7.
Medical benefits shall be provided for the woman and her child in
accordance with national laws and regulations or in any other manner consistent
with national practice. Medical benefits shall include prenatal, childbirth and
postnatal care, as well as hospitalization care when necessary.
8.
In order to protect the situation of women in the labour market, benefits
in respect of the leave referred to in Articles 4 and 5 shall be provided through
compulsory social insurance or public funds, or in a manner determined by
national law and practice. An employer shall not be individually liable for the
direct cost of any such monetary benefit to a woman employed by him or her
without that employer’s specific agreement except where:
(a) such is provided for in national law or practice in a member State prior to
the date of adoption of this Convention by the International Labour
Conference; or
(b) it is subsequently agreed at the national level by the government and the
representative organizations of employers and workers.
Article 7
1.
A Member whose economy and social security system are insufficiently
developed shall be deemed to be in compliance with Article 6, paragraphs 3 and
4,
if cash benefits are provided at a rate no lower than a rate payable for sickness
or temporary disability in accordance with national laws and regulations.
2.
A Member which avails itself of the possibility afforded in the preceding
paragraph shall, in its first report on the application of this Convention under
article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, explain
the reasons therefor and indicate the rate at which cash benefits are provided. In
its subsequent reports, the Member shall describe the measures taken with a view
to progressively raising the rate of benefits.
-5Employment protection and non-discrimination
Article 8
1. It shall be unlawful for an employer to terminate the employment of a
woman during her pregnancy or absence on leave referred to in Articles 4 or 5 or
during a period following her return to work to be prescribed by national laws or
regulations, except on grounds unrelated to the pregnancy or birth of the child
and its consequences or nursing. The burden of proving that the reasons for
dismissal are unrelated to pregnancy or childbirth and its consequences or
nursing shall rest on the employer.
2. A woman is guaranteed the right to return to the same position or an
equivalent position paid at the same rate at the end of her maternity leave.
Article 9
1. Each Member shall adopt appropriate measures to ensure that maternity
does not constitute a source of discrimination in employment, including notwithstanding Article 2, paragraph 1 - access to employment.
2. Measures referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include a
prohibition from requiring a test for pregnancy or a certificate of such a test when
a woman is applying for employment, except where required by national laws or
regulations in respect of work that is:
(a) prohibited or restricted for pregnant or nursing women under national laws
or regulations; or
(b) where there is a recognized or significant risk to the health of the woman
and child.
Breastfeeding mothers
Article 10
1. A woman shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks or
a daily reduction of hours of work to breastfeed her child.
2. The period during which nursing breaks or the reduction of daily hours
of work are allowed, their number, the duration of nursing breaks and the
procedures for the reduction of daily hours of work shall be determined by
national law and practice. These breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work
shall be counted as working time and remunerated accordingly.
-6Periodic review
Article 11
Each Member shall examine periodically, in consultation with the
representative organizations of employers and workers, the appropriateness of
extending the period of leave referred to in Article 4 or of increasing the amount
or the rate of the cash benefits referred to in Article 6.
Implementation
Article 12
This Convention shall be implemented by means of laws or regulations,
except in so far as effect is given to it by other means such as collective
agreements, arbitration awards, court decisions, or in any other manner consistent
with national practice.
Final provisions
Article 13
This Convention revises the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised),
1952.
Article 14
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the
Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 15
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the
International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered with
the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
2. It shall come into force 12 months after the date on which the
ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member
12 months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.
Article 16
1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the
expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into
force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International
Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one
year after the date on which it is registered.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not,
within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in
the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this
Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may
denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the
terms provided for in this Article.
Article 17
1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all
Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all
ratifications and acts of denunciation communicated by the Members of the
Organization.
2. When notifying the Members of the Organization of the registration of
the second ratification, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the
Members of the Organization to the date upon which the Convention shall come
into force.
Article 18
The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate
to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration in accordance
with article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, full particulars of all
ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by the Director-General in
accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.
Article 19
At such times as it may consider necessary, the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on
the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on
the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.
Article 20
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention
in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides:
(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure
involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the
provisions of Article 16 above, if and when the new revising Convention
shall have come into force;
(b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force, this
Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
-82. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and
content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the
revising Convention.
Article 21
The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally
authoritative.
EVERY WOMAN'S
RiGHT
How can breastfeeding be a human right?
• The Covenant on Economic and Social Rights guarantees
the right to food and to health.
• All human beings have human rights.
•
• Women and children have rights equal to everyone else.
• Women and children are subjects of human rights not objects of charity.
•
Breastfeeding is part of fundamental human rights: the right
to food and to health.
•
Breastmilk is the best food for newborns and infants, barring
exceptional circumstances. It provides a nutritionally
balanced food for children to ensure their survival, growth
and development.
• The act of breastfeeding is an essential com
ponent ofgood child care, contributing to healthy
growth and psychosocial development.
•
Breastfeeding contributes to every woman’s right
to health by reducing the risk ofcertain illnesses.
Why is it important to stress that
breastfeeding is a right?
Breastfeeding is a right for every mother, and it is essential to
fulfill every child’s right to adequate food and the highest
attainable standard of health. Breastfeeding as a human right
implies that:
Working
hm
rig lifts
Who has the right?
•
The Convention against Discrimination of Women says that
women shall have appropriate services in connection with
pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding).
Every woman has the right to breastfeed her child.
• Almost all governments have legally obliged themselves
to fulfill the rights contained in international agreements
such as the
<• Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and
<■ Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Dis
crimination against Women.
Many rights linked to the right to breastfeed can be found in
these agreements:
• Children must have access to adequate food
and nutrition to ensure healthy development
from birth. This comes from breastfeeding
exclusively1 in the first six months and
together with complementary foods for two
years and beyond.
• Governments have the duty to ensure that
there are no obstacles for women who
choose to breastfeed.
Women cannot be discriminated against because they are
breastfeeding.
Women can demand adequate information and support to
be able to breastfeed.
Women can demand not to be exposed to undue pressure
from breastmilk substitute producers through advertising
or any other form of promotion.
As breastfeeding is a private matter, is
there a role for the government to play?
• The Convention of the Rights of the Child provides
that it is the right of children to enjoy the highest
attainable standard of health
Yes! While the decision to breastfeed or not lies with each
mother, there are a number of things that governments should
do to protect, promote and support the right to breastfeeding:
that governments shall ensure provision of nutritious
food, and
The government should:
that parents and children have information about
nutrition and the advantages of breastfeeding.
• Recognise in law that women and children have rights to
food and health.
•
Provide for adequate maternity leave (at least 4, but
preferably 6 months) after giving birth to facilitate exclusive
breastfeeding.
• Provide for flexible work hours (by law) for mothers
returning to work, including breastfeeding breaks.
breastfeeding before the baby is born, and
be present at maternity clinics to assist new mothers.
What if my right to breastfeed is hindered?
• Protect a woman’s right to breastfeed in public places.
• Train health workers, including doctors, midwives and
nurses in the protection, promotion and support of
breastfeeding.
• Provide information on the advantages of breastfeeding,
particularly to pregnant women to enable each one to make
informed decisions.
• Prevent any form of promotion of breast
milk substitutes, bottles or teats to the
public, but especially to women prior to
or just after birth.
• Call on employers to provide facilities to
enable working mothers to continue to
breastfeed or express and store milk.
Every government that has agreed to abide by the international
agreements must report to the United Nations about what they
have done to ensure that everyone enjoys the rights. These reports
are sent to the United Nations and discussed by Committees
responsible for overseeing the implementation of these
agreements. If the government does not respect and protect
mothers’ right to breastfeed, it is in breach of
its obligations according to these agreements.
There are a number of actions that can be taken
by national organisations:
Every mother
hos the rnght
t© breastfeed
her child
• Support better provisions in the ILO
Convention No. 103 on Maternity
Protection, currently being revised (June 1999 - June 2000).
•
Women and their organisations can pressure
the government to honour its obligations.
•
Women’s organisations (and other non
governmental organisations) can send
information to the UN Committees about
the breastfeeding situation in their country.2
Women’s organisations can assist the government in drafting
legislation that will enable women to breastfeed after
returning to work.
What can you do to protect the right to
breastfeed?
•
Breastfeeding is the choice of most women where there is
sufficient information and support. If women do not get this
support, there are a number of things that can be done:
• Trade Unions can bring the issue up before the International
Labour Organization if women are discriminated against in
the work place because they are breastfeeding.
• Women and women’s groups can advocate and lobby the
government to ensure that measures are taken to support
women, such as implementation of the International Code
of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, the Baby-Friendly
Hospital Initiative and good maternity protection.
•
• Women's groups can also lobby medical associations to
make sure that information about breastfeeding is made
available through clinics, doctors offices and hospitals.
• Women can organise breastfeeding support networks to:
support new mothers
ensure that women receive sufficient information about
Women can bring the issues up through trade unions and
workers organisations.
Women’s organisations can boycott restaurants and other
public places that prevent women from breastfeeding.
1 Exclusive breastfeeding means that no other drink or food is given to
the infant; the infant should breastfeed frequently and for unrestricted
periods.
2 The UN Committees most relevant for this information would be: The
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; The UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. For further information
about the Committees and procedures for sending information to them,
please contact Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Where can I get more information?
E WABA Women & Work Task Force. PO Box 1200. 10850 Penang, Malaysia. Tel: 60-4-6584816; Fax: 60-4-6572655;
Email:waba@streamyx.com; http://www.waba.org.my
E International Maternal & Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s & Children's Health, Entrance 11, Uppsala University,
S-751 85 Uppsala. Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115937; Fax: 46-18-515380 / 508013; Email: ted.greincr@kbh.uu.se
£3 ARL’GAAN. University of the Philippines. PO Box 231, Diliman, Quezon City, Metromanila 1100, Philippines. Fax: 63-2-9225189
E World Alliance for Nutrition and Human Rights (WANAHR), c/o Norwegian Institute of Human Rights. Universitetsgaien 22-24, 0142 Oslo, Norway.
Tel: 47-22-842004; Fax: 47-22-842002; Email: wanahr@nihr.uio.no
E Geneva Infant Feeding Association, (GIFA)/IBFAN Europe, PO Box 157, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland. Tel: 41-22-7989164; Fax: 41-22-7984443;
Email: info@gifa.org
E United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations. OHCHR-UNOG, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Tel: 41-22-9179000;
Email: webadmin.hchr@unog.ch; http://www.unhchr.ch
E International Labour Office, Conditions of Work Branch, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Tel: 41-22-7997955;
Fax:41-22-7998451: Email: dy@ilo.org; http://www.ilo.org
E UNICEF New York, Legal Officer, Nutrition Section, 3 UN Plaza. New York, NY 10017. Email: dclark@unicef.org; http://www.uniccf.org
ESKfiJH This document was developed to help women understand breastfeeding from the human rights perspective. Il is also part of WABA's campaign
to support working women’s right to breastfeed through international instruments and national legislations, to provide for better maternity
entitlements. WABA is a global people’s initiative to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. WABA is grateful to UNICEF for its financial
and technical support for the production of this document. For further information, please contact: WABA Wccrclarial. PO Box 1200,
10850 Penang, Malaysia. Tel: 60-4-6584816 Fax: 60-4-6572655 Email: waba@strcamyx.com Website: http://www.waba.org.my
INNOCENTI
DECLARATION
On the
Protection, Promotion
and Support of
Breastfeeding
1 August, 1990
Florence, Italy
INNOCENTI DECLARATION
On the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding
RECOGNISING that
WE THEREFORE DECLARE that
Breastfeeding is a unique process that:
• provides ideal nutrition for infants and contri
butes to their healthy growth and development;
• reduces incidence and severity of infectious
diseases, thereby lowering infant morbidity and
mortality;
• contributes to women’s health by reducing
the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and by
increasing the spacing between pregnancies;
• provides social and economic benefits to the
family and the nation;
• provides most women with a sense of satisfac
tion when successfully carried out; and that
As a global goal for optimal maternal and child
health and nutrition, all women should be
enabled to practise exclusive breastfeeding and
all infants should be fed exclusively on breast
milk from birth to 4-6 months of age. There
after, children should continue to be breastfed,
while receiving appropriate and adequate com
plementary foods, for up to two years of age or
beyond. This child-feeding ideal is to be
achieved by creating an appropriate environ
ment of awareness and support so that women
can breastfeed in this manner.
Attainment of the goal requires, in many coun
tries, the reinforcement of a “breastfeeding
culture” and its vigorous defence against incur
sions of a “bottle-feeding culture.” This requires
commitment and advocacy for social mobiliza
tion, utilizing to the full the prestige and
authority of acknowledged leaders of society in
all walks of life.
Efforts should be made to increase women’s
confidence in their ability to breastfeed. Such
empowerment involves the removal of con
straints and influences that manipulate
perceptions and behaviour towards breastfeeding,
often by subtle and indirect means. This requires
sensitivity, continued vigilance, and a responsive
and comprehensive communications strategy'
involving all media and addressed to all levels of
society. Furthermore, obstacles to breastfeeding
within the health system, the workplace and the
community must be eliminated.
Recent research has found that:
• these benefits increase with increased
*exclusiveness of breastfeeding during the first
six months of life, and thereafter with increased
duration of breastfeeding with complementary
foods, and
• programme interventions can result in positive
changes in breastfeeding behaviour;
The Innocenti Declaration was produced and adopted
by participants at the WHO/UNICEF policymakers’
meeting on “Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global
Initiative”, co-sponsored by the United States Agency
for International Development (A.I.D.) and the Swedish
International Development Authority (SIDA), held at
the Spedalc degli Innocenti, Florence, Italy, on 30 July -1
August 1990. The Declaration reflects the content of the
original background document for the meeting and the
views expressed in group and plenary sessions.
Measures should be taken to ensure that women
are adequately nourished for their optimal
health and that of their families. Furthermore,
ensuring that all women also have access to
family planning information and services allows
them to sustain breastfeeding and avoid
shortened birth intervals that may compromise
their health and nutritional status, and that of
their children.
All governments should develop national
breastfeeding policies and set appropriate
national targets for the 1990s. They should
establish a national system for monitoring the
attainment of their targets, and they should
develop indicators such as the prevalence of
exclusively breastfed infants at discharge from
maternity services, and the prevalence of
exclusively breastfed infants at four months of
age.
National authorities are further urged to
integrate their breastfeeding policies into their
overall health and development policies. In so
doing they should reinforce all actions that
protect, promote and support breastfeeding
within complementary programmes such as
prenatal and perinatal care, nutrition, family
planning services, and prevention and treatment
of common maternal and childhood diseases. All
healthcare staff should be trained in the skills
necessary to implement these breastfeeding
policies.
■Exclusive breastfeeding means that no other drink or food
is given to the infant; the infant should feed frequently and
for unrestricted periods.
2World Health Organisation, Geneva, 1989.
OPERATIONAL TARGETS:
All governments by the year 1995 should
have:
• appointed a national breastfeeding coordinator
of appropriate authority', and established a
multisectoral national breastfeeding committee
composed of representatives from relevant
government departments, non-governmental
organizations, and health professional
associations;
• ensured that every facility providing maternity'
services fully' practises all ten of the Ten Steps to
Successful Breastfeeding set out in the joint
WHO/UNICEF statement*
2 “Protecting,
promoting and supporting breast-feeding: the
special role of maternity sendees”;
• taken action to give effect to the principles and
aim of all Articles of the International Code of
Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and
subsequent relevant World Health Assembly'
resolutions in their entirety'; and
• enacted imaginative legislation protecting the
breastfeeding rights of working women and
established means for its enforcement.
We also call upon international
organizations to:
• draw up action strategies for protecting,
promoting and supporting breastfeeding,
including global monitoring and evaluation of
their strategies;
• support national situation analyses and surveys
and the development of national goals and
targets for action; and
• encourage and support national authorities in
planning, implementing, monitoring and
evaluating their breastfeeding policies.
PARTICIPATING GOVERNMENTS
Professor Dr. M.Q.K. Talukder
Bangladesh
Dr. Marcos Candau
Brazil
Hon. Dr. Patricio Silva Rojas
Chile
Dr. Wang Feng-Lan
China
Dr. Guan Yuan Zi
China
Dr. Daniel Arenas Reyes
Colombia
Hon. Dr. Plutarco Naranjo Vargas
Ecuador
Hon. Col. Dr. Getachew Tadesse
Ethiopia
Dr. Ruth de Arango
Guatemala
Hon. Teofilo Martel Cruz
Honduras
Mr. Jagdish C. Jedi
India
Ms. Mira Seth
India
Hon. Mrs. A. Sulasikin Murpratomo
Indonesia
Dr. Soepardan Soerjohoedojo
Indonesia
Dr. Widyasuti Wibisana
Indonesia
Professor Dr. Su Haryono
Indonesia
Dr. Alireza Marandi
Iran
Hon. Ivo Butini
Italy
Professor Dr. Joseph Andoh
Ivory Coast
Dr. Mamoun Maabreh
Jordan
Dr. Samir Awamleh
Jordan
Professor Joseph S. Oliech
Kenya
Dr. Suzanne Bocoum
Mali
Dr. Mrs. J. Ramphul
Mauritius
Dr. Yolanda Senties
Mexico
*Hon. Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti
Nigeria
Dr. Adenike Grange
Nigeria
Hon. S. A. H. Kazmi
Pakistan
Dr. Syed Tariq Sohail
Pakistan
Hon. Piotr Mierzewski
Poland
Hon. Dr. Fanny Friedman
Swaziland
Dr. Qhing Qhing Dlamini
Swaziland
Dr. J.W. Temba
Tanzania
Dr. Dhatchai Mungkandi
Thailand
Professor Dr. Tomris Turmen
Turkey
Dr. Petronella Clarke
United Kingdom
Ms. Dora Henschel
United Kingdom
Dr. Audrey Hart Nora
United States ofAmerica
Dr. Ngandu-Kabeya Dibandala
Zaire
Hon. Dr. Timothy Stamps
Zimbabwe
* (Meeting Chairman)
UNICEF
WHO
Mr. James P. Grant
Dr. Nyi Nyi
Dr. James Himes
Dr. Urban Jonsson
Dr. J. Peter Greaves
Ms. Margaret Kyenkya-Isabiryc
Ms. Agnes Aidoo
Dr. Hu Ching-Li (on behalf of
Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima)
Dr. Angele Petros-Barvazian
Dr. Mark Belsey
Dr. Elisabet Helsing
Ms. Randa Saadeh
Dr. Djamil Benbouzid
Dr. Jim Tulloch
Dr. Marina Rea
US A.I.D.
Dr. Nancy Pielemeier
Dr. Mary Ann Anderson
Dr. Nina Schlossman
Dr. James Shelton
Dr. Janet Tognetti
Dr. Miriam Labbok
SIDA
Mr. Nils Ostrom
Mr. Ted Greiner
Professor Goran Sterky
UK ODA
UNFPA
Ms. Margaret Pollock
Dr. Nafis Sadik
FAO
UNDP
Mr. Paul Lunven
Mr. Aldo Ajello
WFP
UNICEF NATIONAL
COMMITTEES
Ms. Judit Katona-Apte
Mr. Arnoldo Farina
WORLD BANK
Mr. Alan Berg
Further information may be obtained from
UNICEF, Nutrition Cluster (H-8F), 3 United
Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017.
Steps toward a
People-Friendly
Workplace
s employers, we depend on our
employees. People are our most
valuable resource - the one with the
most potential for growth. We also know that
people are the most expensive resource that
most businesses invest in. Recruitment,
training, salaries and benefits are direct costs
which can often be quantified. But what
about the indirect costs resulting from turn
over, low morale, poor concentration, absen
teeism, lack of promotable staff - at best we
can only guess at these costs.
We also know that women
make up half our employment
resource. Of these women,
many will raise families and
many need and want to
continue their careers.
People -
our most
valuable
resource
This is the economic and equity reality of
today’s workplace.
Women
make up
half our
employment
resource
When employers ask
themselves how they can
reduce costs and encourage
productivity, at some point
they always look at the
human resource. The
question, "How can I
attract, retain and motivate
good workers? " is heard
again and again.
Smart employers with competitive
edge, look at their enterprise in a
How can
human light, and ask, "How can
I attract,
I make this a place where
people want to work? ” Clearly, retain
this represents a different attitude and
- an employee-centred attitude
motivate
which recognises that a people
good
friendly workplace can reap
enormous benefits in terms of
*
workers?
employee loyalty and satisfaction,
reduced turnover, greater motiva
tion and cooperation. In today’s working world,
this employee-centred attitude translates into
adopting a family-centred approach to the
workplace.
Most of these companies already provide
competitive pay and benefits, and have made
working conditions safer and more pleasant.
Many have gone further: they encourage
employee participation through joint committees
and suggestion schemes. Some have gone even
further. They are recognised as leaders of
change, companies with the confidence and
commitment to try creative solutions. It is such
leaders in the field that we look to for lasting
change in the workplace. They don’t just
change their products, their technology and their
marketing: they change their workplace to meet
the needs of their most valued resource people. Such changes benefit both the employer
and the employee.
What kinds of things have these leaders done?
Some have implemented flexible hours,
staggered hours, reduced work weeks, job
sharing, and so on. Others, recognising the
demands of parenting, provide extended parental
leaves with pay, or they offer support for
community childcare spaces, or provide their
own childcare space. Others, realising that
many working mothers want to breastfeed
their babies, allow and encourage them to
express breastmilk at
work: for -he same
reaso
babie; s j-: brought
to wo
A few even facilitate
ways for mothers to
keep their babies with
• childcare
them at work so that
they can take time
• space for
out to care for them
breastfeeding
and breastfeed them.
While this may
appear extreme and
even unnecessary,
consider this:
and expressing
is freer to concentrate on work instead of
worrying about a child’s welfare, staying
home with a sick child or
taking a child to the doctor.
Today's
These corporate leaders now consumers
have followers, who see the
want to
positive results of corporate
buy from
cultures which foster a
humanised and more mother sociallyfriendly workplace.
conscious
Companies which lag behind
companies
see their competitors
surviving, growing and
enjoying good reputations, and realise that
they need to follow suit. They, too, need to
attract and retain the best employees and to
foster a positive corporate image in the
community.
breastmilk
Studies show conclusively that children who
are exclusively breastfed up to the age of six
months, and who are breastfed and also
receive complementary foods up to the age of
two years, enjoy optimal health and
development, both in the short-term and the
long-term. The irreplaceable benefits of
breastfeeding are increasingly well-known and
appreciated. Naturally, women and their
partners want their babies to enjoy those
benefits that will give them a head start in life.
They know that it is not necessarily true that
women who work cannot breastfeed.
No one doubts that a healthy child makes for
a happier, more productive parent. Family
friendly companies know that a happy parent
What can
you do to
join this
growing
cadre of
Everyone wants to work for
a caring company. Today’s
consumers want to buy
from socially conscious
companies. What can you
do to join this growing
cadre of corporate leaders?
corporate
leaders?
Adequate provision for breastfeeding is an
investment in the health of the present
andfuture workforce. Today's babies are
tomorrow's workers.
The Mother-Friendly Workplace Initiative
Action Folder. WBW1993, WABA
Simple Steps to make
j) your Workplace
"People-Friendly"
yf major international company which
f- develops, produces and markets a
/ comprehensive line of beauty and
personal grooming products and has its
Canadian Head Office in Toronto, has provided
opportunities for its women employees to
breastfeed their babies at
work. It offers childcare
• corporate
at the workplace, with an
commitment
office nearby that is
available for new parents
• positive
who want to work close
to their child. This company thinking
has grown steadily, even
• creativity
through a recession, and
and
enjoys enormous employee
flexibility
loyalty. Its public image is
enviable and it is recognised
as a leader in its field.
Another major company shows its openness to
the people-friendly workplace by offering
wellness programmes, flexible hours, a
modified work week, and a private health
room. It supports a childcare centre very close
to the workplace where mothers can breastfeed
and it supports equity issues through education
about diversity.
All it took in these two companies was
corporate commitment, positive thinking and
the willingness to be creative and flexible.
Gather the facts
Talk with those who know the current
situation. Look at your workplace to see
what facilities already exist to enable mothers
to breastfeed and work. Find out what is
needed - you’ll see it usually isn’t much.
Next, look at possible barriers - remember,
these can often be removed with little cost.
Often these are barriers of the mind more
than barriers in fact. People often imagine
that this has to be a major undertaking and
see only the problems, but this is not
necessarily the case. Providing facilities for
mothers to breastfeed or express milk at work
is a small step, although a visible one. Few
women will be breastfeeding at any one time,
and facilities need only be clean, comfortable
and private.
Find out what is important to the people you
need to influence. Determine the resources
and opportunities you have at your disposal.
=
Generate
understanding and
commitment
Talk to other decision-makers about the costs
of labour in your company and the benefits of
a people-friendly workplace. Usually
decision-makers and those who influence
decisions include senior management, staff and
union representatives, employment equity labour
relations and human resource practitioners.
Expect scepticism. But also expect that support
comes from unlikely places, and du’.O e!y on
stereotypical images to anticipate
objection and support will come
patient and remember that time is;
attitudes change with knowledge ar ; ■. , ;rs
have gone before with demonstrable success.
Select the right methods, the right timing and
the right materials to use by understanding your
target audience.
= Establish a working
group to get thejob
done
5)
Once you have commitment from your
corporate decision-makers, the idea becomes
the company’s "baby". Working in a
representative and supportive group reinforces
that responsibility. It also increases
implementation resources and offers
opportunities for creative thinking and specific
problem-solving. Cooperate and delegate so you
are not working in a vacuum or with too few
human resources.
eg eg eg eg eg eg eg eg
The group will:
•
clarify objectives and time-frames;
■'
address practical matters such as
adjusting break times, permission to
leave the work station, etc;
prepare a safe and suitable place for
breastfeeding or expressing milk for a
"trial run ” in your workplace;
ensure good communications and
education for managers and employees
to build understanding and support
•
implement the programme, including a
pilot phase; and
®
monitor its impacts and obtain reactions.
The group should be sensitive to any problems
and quick to take remedial action. Often, this is
as simple as chatting with a supervisor to allow
5-minutes extra break time for a mother.
Evaluate
At the end of the pilot phase, the group and the
decision-makers should evaluate feedback about
acceptance of the programme. Some policy and
practice adjustments may need to be made.
Most will have already been made during the
pilot stage. Make sure you know when you have
achieved successes. Develop and adjust
tracking mechanism and document results.
\fjfr magineyour company enjoying
all the benefits of that small step
towards a people-friendly workplace:
the positive, modern corporate
image, the goodwill, the
sff
Implement and
JT
publicise
With corporate commitment and a working
group in place, announce and implement your
company’s on-going commitment to a
workplace that supports mothers and families.
As you work to implement the programme,
remember to be flexible, targeted and always
publicise successes, especially early
successes which can lead to increased
motivation and change.
reduced costs... it needn't take much!
|waba|
WABA, PO Box 1200
10850 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: 604-6584816 Fax:604-6572655
Email: waba@streamyx.com
Website: www.waba.org.my
© 1995 • Women & Work Task Force • World Alliance for
Breastfeeding Action (WABA) • 214C York Centre for Health
Studies • York University • Toronto • Canada •
Fax: (1-416) 736 5986 Text: Cynthia Webster & Associates Ltd.
Design: Susan Siew • Produced by: WABA Secretariat, Malaysia
Revised in 2000 by Janine Schooley, Wellstart International and
Penny Van Esterik, York University.
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a
global network of individuals and organisations concerned
with the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding
based on the Innocenti Declaration.
CRC
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1.
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Definition of Child
ooboa oad^d 5ad'/ado d^aadS^rt
1.
adba^ 3 V do5o<kb rtradodsa addd <3
aozood^
18 ddrd SVhd aoeba add<5_
Sedosad.
roseate sad/adbrtV«3, "dorto'
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2.
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3.
di aSoasacte ddaforttfe^ aSrw,
da^hod rtodb dy^Vd^ akdoirart
Garaoartas’doJo? aaarradd «dS,
sadrartsksb?
2.
sadddb^ di ora rtd
Freedom from
discrimination
oira^dc dgsadaod ae^dbtfjtfrt/a
1.
di wdouQiSoiw aSSBlcted d^rtVo
ddiSjfd 2 d<9 Reacted edsadrttfrt
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Soards dod^rt dSn ZodhSdcsb.
2.
ua^cok dafc^d saddrtv^
cora^db^a / rra.doero ditfjVo/
uOj doajSjS’d datfjVa/ Scra3,3"d
doSjVa/ eorta<Se datf^ri ^raeazbd
sadddJjrtV acted, Srtdb&raoadbd
Sjaa^dartVja
aaartoa sadddOj
do sb,
dbdjacpadrts/j
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<S,doriVo.
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3.
so, Bedooood doe^V
feddA.
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Best interest of the
child.
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doaabaart
ao
Bcdoaood &>d saaaQ doe^ dgto
aaartoa aaodrt
Ssardd) tfod)
doaddcWd^SoadS waBrVa<?Sz3irtb.
1.
aadoado aaartoa asa^aioaoalo,
ud<23 asartea do33d ge3,rWc? db^V
J>a'dd A(1 oc!odo4
ridodduaosoa'o
a a"U ddo 13<3 rt
aozooddo
wdoozSicb.
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o)QardrtVdo
doaobaart
ao,
ac3ooood dodjV ad saare a odd
ddro doab, aaodrt ■acted SoSrWo
aSchddcifodo
daard
SrtB
doad&kdo.
4.
ddo^rtV era B.
Implementation of
Rights
di udozoadatod, deduahdod
1.
diSylVd^Seard;?) sagadjBSdcdi.
odeadrWste ijtodoa^ateaaart/a
d^do^S
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dtfeaio d8SdrtV«5, tsa& doadoo
acted udad oJoacKdrtVo.
1t
traB SbadSrtVo
jJoaSj
adab
a trad
5.
^pedSd/^Sdd
tsaaua^Babsb^
rfodasoaido
Respect for parental
responsibility
d» todouaScdod 3s?l>dod aoSyWab
1.
deraooos'oo doS^rt aJped.Sdo/
Soaaa Sed (SdjadvaedaS)rt ■adbd
al^sidj JJedtaaSocrad adredd/
djdd riVab abSSa doa&>3.
ov^sb dos^ wtpda,
Survival &
Development
dorbaA tieaSod dabj'ad, Sdsadsb
1.
^Sobaocb ebrb^p saobd tocbSoo
asaSaSjaodeo Sdaradd;' add abd A
aaa rtra asaS/ oz^d^aSoaodejo saSd^
d,obS ddd’ aaarba ooSSdasaddra
6.
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ao
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hozodjacoS.
7.
aSdcb do So, craJ^eabS
Name & Nationality
t>odo dSddo 'aUoSoasb.d ararba
1.
ao,
dotfjV
cra&^eobSobab^ a&jaocbd doSo, Scg
GraaldosododijcJ^
doSo^
aSSdcracb (Sod saosorWo) hodo
era al doso d de
aSoaedd
S^cbSoa^d aaartra Sig iy/aedtfBod
abaaartel/ae
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a,e3, dgrf ddobod dsg.
Sjadoe^d^ SrtdoaJoa^d ad^ra
aSol^d
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2.
rra,aoera d,dea'rtVc9_ doa^tf
craaluaSabab ebadeo aoSaS a^dS
abadoaAd.
8.
9.
Bdd^/d^
59SJ9t&3)t&
Preservation of
identity
dog^ odgS/d^gg ®a&dod oqbra
^pedtfd dgrf asarba
dedFdaebaJjdo
Parental Care &
Non- separation
dosv &>SdAoaaod d,3 dbrbarba
1.
Sigde j&acaitfd/aoart deaSbd aSSg
(wdo dorbaat dtfdrirtri M&>Stfd
■azOjdoaoarba SodSr. zjoajoQ'
aojaoddad a’tfjd^ asa8 doadoJ
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iJjAyaod gdbrtsh.
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oSsa^ dotfjVa Sod sao3aab8od
dedrU d « sb8Sa dja&>3.
10.
11.
SOkdOOUd B$)ddOFOd
Family Reunification
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d vsoSdAoatfaba&do
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Illicit Transfer &
Non- return.
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Sod
1.
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saASodjcb ddde <ad.
aoSaod,SoAA^o aBarVa adjAVacbd
SyVaod gdaris/o.
jJoaJj
arfob
12.
BiPsre/obrtVtbi
dbtfsrafi d^tf dQibsJjcb
Free Expression of
Opinion
era8 Tbadtfrttfo
a wad
abis^rt -adad z^artd&bd Seyb
darbartSfi &>33(Aiowo$J;daMadrW
1.
tfaBda «zp3ra,ob dj^dSdad dSa^
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da3a, «$aa,obd<b< AjowoddUeSda
wa'daaodri .
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u rts^d o da
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ab 3b,
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2.
abriaart
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ao,
atradrWob adedaaft ^aaaS abb
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wzPaa,Qbd5Sa r^daStWozaS^dsb
obad 8?3 sarouarbSd aozaacb.
13.
daafc^ xra^od,^
Freedom of
Information
oira^jdc daaz^darW daaaotf daaM
1.
da da aba', ddobaa’ abab, odda^
dja,f3'aJkAlbd)O'#j,
z3edobd8rt 5s?Abd dzbj.
adSF5abarbd)d31d3:b>ao dasWrtra
aba’^s/ ArafcSj ^a'UcSojada^
ao'd
irtadoS daadadjdtfj Sridatfaaocf
S,darWa
2.
daadds’Fd absb^ deSobac
daraoS daS^ dodi5S,rW<b d,Aiad
a'aarabajdaa
dcSdoS
aba’^V
SrtSS^d
a'aobFS,abrt<?nah
aauad?.
14.
u^sa^oboS ddobad
da&^ddrt tfeaad
tfsbFdsb^ tssbxtdsbd
3‘itf
dozaart
op'dra
p'abFdoS
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ddobew
a'ab,
datf^rt
1.
d?
a'^d
abjSoba 8 da a'
d^drartsb ddaobahdozjjcb.
era 8
AraccbeJjcJSj Sod saoaarttfrt <adad
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15.
16.
Freedom of
Conscience Religion
Stfjib SiTOFd rrOdaideb.
jjo^J>L53foartco "ado 3
aob4
Freedom of
Association
^o^PUSoariea dab, sao3 SeSoaaod
1.
752,5 Scdoo "adad Sibj
aaAjdrfs/ 5daoa’art SridaSaaod
^ieab^ab dgrf
Protection of Privacy
d» ddajrtVda^ adcEpbd asac5
S,d>riVa.
dhobis', s^UaozOa1, dad OQ'aa
d^obSa'
a^a'aatiri^d
saSdda
daqtjdpSeSdae&dd bdad, asarba
1.
Zypeatfd §gra wqtaa a^tbozSS
A>oa5 ^cd (A>doa«ba<?dd)ri ■adad
djddrWib b8bdraM.
djObSS 4c^f rfaddrW da?c5 «rbd
utf,darW adbd dgro ddobad dbj.
17.
daai^dortVa dab,
d»ta
Media &
Information
oa^eob asartra ooSd oa^eob aa$
1.
abaaorttfoa'
awoddrWzb zb8b dja&>3.
Sdaadritfa
a'aaSoS
a'doboj
adhSdeb.
2.
aba&>3 a'cSobeo SdobadaQa'
dabaas' abat^abritf abaaoa’
araaaradS bzradrWa, d,ddFdrt<!?rt
daS^a dtzsaridoS dgSeo Srtcb&aod
S,darWa.
- SoaJj
18.
3 wad
datob
ajpedtfd aararjaB
Parental
responsibility
ktoB ribadSrt^o
wdja^ertu Sodsaoaoobdabtf^
Sod sacoaobBaa^daa Sab, ab^Vib
1.
eaadl srac92» dtfdaaf aarotaa^B
aaodriabaddod a^dS abBSa aba&A
aJaaoBcsad osbd S^dab jJdsaddj
rfaddSdeb. Sod saoaoobcb wqiara
dje?oS djjaCds^Brt dja,EjJaa^ zsaawa,B
■ad asartaa Sod saooaobda «tjjaro
Spessart dr aaraireBSrtcb&ra^eo
a>’3oG7>o'
a e da ajjdod
wdaajCrtdeJdbd Sod saobobBrt
das^s/ aroocJrt ddaradasj Tijsti
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odBsdrWab wdfddeb.
19.
dbdbdaSaaeri ah 3b,
ijpedtfcb w$aro aab^ obade uric9
abtftfsb
Abuse and Neglect
obaa&de
BeSab
dacbdobaert abaddoS, SaaedrSrt
rtoB
daaddoS,
Sear^ddoS
o’jjdde&b.
do'eradriVa
raoa’aa’
d,doririVa wodaridoS SdriUdeb
1.
da to ozSSarasadd carted abtf^
Gbdbdobaerid d,dortrW ddBrtVj.
2.
abs^tfo dadoa’ol/aerf «?Jasa
n^arr^
/ &o?Srt u-i/rrarfdoS
3'drtt^oa Sridotfjaodo rradjaab
S,abrbb.
abSa.'aoSdcb adbhdd abtf^rt iWS
wqiasa dadd d,ab ^rtaa^deSa
3.
ab
*
ab
t^cro h
djafd&/aodoSao ed^sa d^KF<^,
ZooS, djOfitf draedrS abeb ■aa&rWib
as/rtjaod Araabadtf airadrtVab
d>B& ddBdbddodjaeqtdrWj.
4.
d®Uao23Saa3addradeira,ab^
abed rbdbSd d^KFdj enjotodcS
woSao abs^tf dgfori Houo^ dt^
w^saBrfVo dddb&ra^desrad a?
aqradrisb.
5.
Sd^ daeeS d^KFc^, daaedra
uqbsa SeJFg^ truodahde), aba^Va
dedaroh dbada &/adad wqijSrWa.
20.
abd SAd ddoaaead.
abs^Va
3'6^ s^oS sbdaoza&od aabrfa
dedobadd
eoSa'
abrtaBrt
Home less children
dobarob ff^Uaodd a^dd / dgd *
Sra^d
’ tfeo^, dab, oQ’aa daatf.
do^rttftf,
,aUaJ
ddTOdrttfod
adca’aird dgra abab^ dasaolo
ddobod dabj.
1. oarad ai^edaS abao&d d/aeattfd
abarv used araodriVab Sobo^dew
■adaas aBacraafrttfa (adOd, dbtf^a
eraod asaodoaood 3ot3Scrarido3 aids
a'BliJjaV ew “aoba'- oBOdadrttfaa
tu^Aja^sd).
2.
Sod
saoaaobda
ddxld
SaaddatfaaoBd d, g^daaddabaa
dozaod dodtfF aLaoBdeu abrbahcbd
dsyb reaB abadeo fybatyJcisad SaaS
tf,abrWa.
3. So^oSaaodticS dgrf Sccbdjdc uqlara
55aSoc daacab^ dd,'a<bd)dc aota uob
abadco ■aobdoss"5)e3ri<a.
4. eraod dodrrah dobarob aSjdd
ijdFdew gcbd So^riV dl^ &cfl e»o^
aaod ddobaSdad abs^V z>oa^ arartaa
«od datf^ yrtSob vuzbasaB abadejo
■adbai a$aQadri<&.
iioaij
21.
dSb,
Adoption
zsaB TbadtfrtVa
dzjad
ddoia
dab,
o)cdad
aaartaa
ddabad
(ddcSocbBrtja ^eBdoS) d,3,<a5a
*
oiada
ddafadazfj sraQ^aroo'e^era,
5)abo3,^z3eda.
1.
oa^eob aaart/a wosaua^eob
d&.oledbd asarVa z/vdaaaB dddad
aqradrrtb,
2.
dadjtfd^ dab^ Siczdad daaozl,
asart 5)edad)C?boc?
ortzadacrod
dBraadariVa aaartra (darbdd^ dda,
CTaBoSa? ’alb3jaoz&) isa^Aia^
zart 3Jah Saacdea zyjacddBrtAiadab
ddaab ■adadoS a)z33?dad<5aaV,ea
3rtda&ratfa,d d,darWa.
3.
3asb ddb, aSaacrbz^Gb «d®J®
zOtdaz&dd zart darta sarfc 5)zpaFd
3flda&aVa,ddaq^rtea. aaahdd ada
abad dabdd^sar^?
22.
5)033,3? dadjVa
Refugee Children
aa'aa
5)u38/3’cb
acra^a’doza
1.
5)oa3,3da aaarba SdFddoad
jj^afdaad ftcddedoda daaedad
datf^rt sao'dda^ tnaolsartdoS,
dad4s?rt ^dsadz^j dgt=5 flcddeda da da,
dariadd &>3dAoaaod, dad,^ zadadad
<1 U
a
aa’abj, ds/drirt aaartaa da&’V
eos'ad
o'gn
arartaa
daraola
o)f ddfsahdad d/ad Sod rts?aad<5
w<3aro,abrt,i?rt
Sdsad^j SSsad Scddeda
dA^osaod
dazdro
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5)cdad
5)e3
3’<d
5)oiadarWda
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dddaroh addda^rt
zsaBrt dodd s>oza daBda daa&>3.
23.
wortadta dad^Va.
Disabled Children
wortddo dad^sJrt a^edzsad oddt5
wortddea dad^rt 3gro, ddde3,
dada, dgro ddda ^deaozOrtsrah
tsdaaerf,tS
ddra-a
jjedrWa,
OA
trudgeFirtvarieaa 3‘abaB aariva
ddaazsde?,
rfStfdaod
daaQd
dB^/arar zJcdrt dddad aoda^'ad.
daddozszS ■aairWsb ddabe»,adad
udeadritfaa SeBdo3 add daBsrad
daa&S.
24.
wdaaer^ dgrf:
Health care
e3jO3 Zo^oia rtBd dat^d wdaaertj
1.
Searo d®eaz^rtV dtfa^. 3da aaartaa
wdaac r|Sedn3h aab^ab dl^abd
dad^s/ dadra doa^cdas'a
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dacd<5t3 dead d,daara.
dQda
daaz&ajjda asartra daaertdazSd dada
war® A^ddabsb
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riz^Friabari udaaertj draa d^eaz^,
udaaertjd zartn 3s/ads?d/ zsart
*3
2.
wdaacrtj ^ed uddeaa^ dad^tf
*
daaertrttfda
rfaradSdad
iraabFd,darts/ aariaa s’drtt^d
eacalard, darts/
ddad
■adad
ddaAaaeead.
Sezda^da; daad udaacrjdg,road,dad
araB; onaabsaBabad, donazaad
ddlrit/
5)dajaFosJ
ddsadd) daaddczb.
gs^nVda
3.
dtdaaoadd)rts/daB3daa&>3.
a) obs^de dartad) udaacr^ 3esro
TfSoz^Sod
dozJs’isartdoS
obaeSdras^co 3rtdad/aod d,darts/a,
udderra^ r®,dacK> d,dedris/a arart/a
drad3ris?od draSd rtrtd d,dedrts/<9
adcdsraft aSroa^dad^rt 5)c8dad
udaae rtj d®eaz^rts/a.
z5) SdjZaadosadadsadJa^udaae^
slesra doddr zracarts/a da3b_
d,daaa3a5art s>a,qjaad adaacr^Sfd.
a stab
aaB ji/atitf rtVo
atsad
2>) dba^V wdraer^ aaart/a Efa^SSoi)
iSriSrW wrt woduod aaari/a ab^Sd
a’jafe^ri^a)^ s'daaas'oo ^rtaaoaf
5,ab rtVa.
S) aia^D' a'Ba3oi>tfi a'oa'^^as'
usfa<i53oi) ai>td aaarVa «dab sad)
atradew ^rVaod S,abriVa.
•a) &>Uaou oiracaara S,afcrWj aaartra
«8jrW jpoaab parted.
)
*
a?j
rtip'Fde^ a'adra
aoartoa
aa)’aa>'o3'do' abdro (Perinatal)
xtoaSjOiiai^ SSda airadoo ^rVaod
S,abriVo.
d) s’dzicS aL/aoac' oaotwoiada
35aKBci)o A>saoi) djaQd zsafatrfs/
SetftStsadb.
aia4-)
rt^Frioijcto
2jaroo3oi>d
wdaaerij
aaarija
dgrfrt
3rici>&rao8 S,abriVa.
a) aJdc dde 5ariWaodj adbtfatf
i$jat&8 dvafri/oara&raerij ^riSris/
s'jB33o‘
ZoaS^eJ, djat&deiiritfafo
atfoiwdjcb.
rf) absr^a aaartra «8d t&acaltfdd
azy.a.a. uoti>&aerid ai,SdrarWa
aaartra SeQd
oi> addriVa, ab&
acj^SdrttJeo Sricb <iraod S,abrisb.
| 25.
SabSsads'
sJjataFsbdF
Periodic Review
araoaS, dSc=5 wqbja 843 na h abtf^ab
1.
S8f8 dVdd, ■aduari8d<5 woSS
afas^s’^ (dapadFoa) Afo^rtVc^
dBlSob ufin Srias sauadariVc^
■aaTuaftd^
i^aJaFsbdF aSdSoo abS^ricbd a^.
ISriSrWab ebBS> tfv&asaB aJdideo
s'dsadd SdFes’as’d daed
«o3a'
xto^riV
Srtcb<5jaodi$,abrWab 5b83adJa&>3.
26.
27.
SaSi»dtf
ae^d, xbatfaj/ac adw
Social Security
88,3 aaartra zSesS ado abaodod dsly
tSesfctf zbt^
Standard of Living
oddjS riedaJ abl^dab abaocbd
1.
®5a^t obaa a^/acai's’Brt Tjoa'oaa)^
oiradjnaddra S,abrWo.
*
rbraabbySab
a’ool^uariadjd
woSaodBri SdsadtJ) dd^) Seddetb
aaartra ISdoScb ^dedd<5dd uqbsa
adcddddtf eoSaSdBod abrbaaS
aJabF dd rtoab dJiraO atra dad dryb
Sdsad^i airaoad.
dr
adabd,
SrtdatJjaod
28.
Sgra:
Education
traB jiaadtfriVa
a wad
aafab
d) agros^h os^eoi) wobadjOia
agracf d^b
*
: ^dsadd) uvdsf ssartaa
1.
tfoaola aja,d3atf 3gK> SaaaSdcSa,
dg,d<9 drtdd cbd aosod d,d59K>.
doBriaa agrodda
*
daaodbdadeao
(S<5oda§gra), wd^agtoddoiioo
t5) aa,d3jS agrasajh SeScbd
aSndtgdwro.
wdsad o'e^xbdjde oodt, dagv
2i) djgritf ucdodjOi) dg,d«3obd
daaddcoiad-di- rf0ddrls?ri3adaja
azio,
stpea’&’dartadoiS
AracaSaa^dcSa.
d,dwa5 iroujrWj.
2.
d)
rra,3ocCT
®sr(ja
ttfrtd
^dedrWd, sadri dbgjVab Sea&d
aaartra wddc^ rtodo/aSrw,
&>B3ad dddsrod «oJ- wodriVo.
?5) 3cera dojad saQdddod
d,dc0'rftf do&^o. aradrt ddoo
wdiJOao djtidbd tf,d>risb.
2>) dog^o aadoiiKb dbt^dde
i/adoiwd aaartra Sodgj aojacrbd
daiSabsto 3do±>eo djaQdbd t^d^
sosrOa wdd daroadb.
3.
dortozipoddo.
eratfrt
a'<?2>
dcTOjVajd djaSdoo ded ded
aooSrwd, wrtad aldor aaarija zod
G'odoourtV dagjtfo Badri djacri
adraj^A,
doata’eo
■st dad
W5t>S4>ori$b.
29.
3gwd rtaB. oud^B:
Education. Aims of
dbrta3ri tOenfbd agro-wdd d^Sdj
1.
db3b d,3z,3oiadb 35a^Aras?ddeSa;
dy®^ dVdew Sjri/aod gdbrWa. 3gra
3£og, ddaawd^zadazo^Ooia dcdd
3cra'dcs'a;
Jiod-saoaooiadb, dxraoz^/as daadd
d) dagjtfri Aratfs^ aaeSriVa sariaa
d^riVa, s^zaadS d8dd, sadb SaU
d<3d do^3 dbafa, roseola dT^rWa
agtfda daafa, wdd AradatgjFritfda
*
ddy&’adjda aearta xraa’da^ 9gK>
‘stdjrtVab<
jyadari,rWab ddfidew oi/acKeSritfa.
dddatgjd^ s’oiraB
1
agra asartra gjgdtf t^dbrWtf,
daab, daacdora g,daritf riaradot^
d^dew gjrtaaod gdbrWa.
wdadazgjddo
db|rVaaWaVojdo.3dz3eibodbdb do
d) agSd3ddc3 AO^riVadddasartra
dsardrWa z^dgaaoSd.
wdjrttfod dda ddda wdbd agtfd
AtOodj deJO^.
2>) ©dzaaasasarVa wd^dwaasagra
djdSoiad dbaddSSytVSedrd.
30.
wea^oaaa^d dagjVa
Children of Minorities
wo AfoajSjSd ddbaoaoiaritfri dbsb,
1.
wqfda dbaao itaalrW rtaodri Se8d
3da2>ris/ dbgjtfri oirad)dc aeSoixO
weg Aj'oaTOjS'da ssarfaa daaao
dag^aSdadcwddoj^, ddbrrWdb
tfed ipad djaaoSdadjdd zarin
wd8dbd da sb, z^adaiada zas'dad,
arariaa
aoS^aLraoaddc&i.
wdaseo daaSobd/ Sridb&aoQdbd
wdd daaao atftfo rfVda
aids g,darts' zart daa&>3.
31.
309,0.3 259 rt/9
db tSaaedoarf
Leasure & Recreation
309,0.3, uta aaartaa sao^3S, Soagg
1.
dLiadlSSriVd z^arid&zibd aSS^.
tfoagtf dUaddtfritfc^ sad/a^oa
dasVacdoari, zrao^iJ asartra
dagjtfri Scad wdsadriV uri daa&3.
ztoa^
32.
taae saibFtfdb
Child Labourers
.
Zissd
ddob
A/aedro abb, ucbacrt,
abrb
1.
tsaB zbadtfritfo
*
abtfjVsb
maarad a.ae/'.L.
Sa'ra
dasb
wd obaoda
a.
da
das dad
odaobzraB rfoz>rttfrt
(wosaua^eab sadoFtf zSo^uaJ)
ij3 d h Z>ba ibfj) d d 3 <b ri d §z> <ydo aS
waBabKb rbBsad aba&>3.
a'ab^. ewcJjSjcrSS^c zJedoa 5'8:S
dobacdo3ri<tf<b zidsada^ariBdaz.,
e/vd/a^erid ^SrtSrt^da^ c)abo3,z>
aobBoairtjatfzSdcb dab, ■aa&rtV
dBcsaabsaB zsaOnah 3&3;S8rt 3g
a^SiSesb.
^dowdSab iBetfdro sartra odd
2.
abs^aS^ SozSS^ 3rtdj<JjaV,ejo
a^lobd
5'<0d a'oiuaeaaSrfVj
abrbdd oduaerijSj qj^abaduabaad
wqiasa
dzaaStiS,
aaart/a zraabadS aSVdrfrtritfrt ^jaodd
uvoLbabadwabaad d,zSorirt<ib.
3.
abtfjSb abab, oboaS aSobiaSddb
(Young Persons) cbdobwabdad
oaSfp sa rba daiSrtV ziozjoqJ zSsard
ervd^SZidbd oqSasa zsaarba^Z>cbd
<0 oboaS, rarW jbBsad aba&A
33.
abadtf d^rtVo
Narcotics.
abtf^Va aadrasb aaa&dairadS d,a£rWa
1.
abb dbdZd z^abro auoLbdbdad
daa^Vab^ 3jadBZ>&/aoda daaedro
d,djiW<b ScBzSdoi zisaFd oddab
abaddo3 obaaSja^aJjdj asarba w
enxsa^drfobd,
ab 8 sb abtfjVKb
*
dSdoa i?drtjaod
m tp'aya
ds'drSabeJ,
badfti
asbade’
d^
djddadrts/^
tf,abrW<b cbass abaM.
ira^doSob/a eddab^ d^zSdeib.
34.
duaedrf:
Exploitation, sexual.
obadjdc SeSob e^ofW d/acdro abb,
1.
zba'SnaaS, diaoaU, dSabob,
rfoBabartdoiS,
wdddraaJe ds/rtvaodo^ e^oPitf
zL/a^naBSrt drraaridoS aaart/a u^ro
Aracdro, dacbdobacriritfodabt^ab
srakSj/ i3S,rt<?rt
diziew 3 rttbi/aoddbd tf,darisb.
djobdobaertifj
^^aSao^ddo^
abtfjVcb^ASdsrad d^A>dc&.
B 35.
abacraU abi^dflabab,
zrarraU
Sale & Trafficking
dasfjVab w^abasah sSd Zodadadjcb,
aba era kJ
abadoqf)°'J
deddrt
1.
d» iO^dd, SrtdoiJjaoadod
cSBrd tf,dbri<ib.
sahAba&da 'asa^&rSVssb^ ddsadaj)
sSdobdeb.
36.
■aid ^racatrirtVo:
Exploitation, Others.
abfyi'Hb
‘aa'd
acSab
ao,
Ajz catro rWod zSisard:?) d^zSaJcSz.
a)
dbadtf dzi^ritf aba oa U daSb,
sScditi.
z5) ■33'0' 8c3ob duaedronVdb^
SdrtL^eo, 35arba tja&ritfo ab^s/d^
duacAzSdoS daadew ■gdad
tf,abrWo.
Soaij
40.
Buad
oaB AbaibtrtVa
tsdoaqSd w(bafaSi5Ja><!tnadab3JVtbt
abated asa^ob Sedate abBsad udW
rfaddBod 3dl>&raVa1aS aieOj. ab dates
aSacd wdaarteld wdcratfaS) f^ab
atabSab
ud,
zJ o
n aasbasb aS,6 35
Q olradd
xioiiS-afr-delcbaS aba^V 3613 aaart/a
SaS^3asaB daasaara3a uriao'dddja
abao&3 aisaddVcb^ SabsS atrak3
a at (ria
abtf^d Cromal)
Juvenile Justice
txbaeaS&ra^nad ab dated waSS/ waW
aJaeddao' oaaddrtV wrt
*1
3<
aSeVdeSa. wabdated deaadBaabaab
risacria uddi'deab, abdateSod
weaSoSasad Aia^Se^abaida wqSaaa
wdjaediSj oteSaa^aSoS aSaadaaSjdd
tecteo'
xteatf
dgro
aaariaa
a) tfctertdab sa^aSac 'aodo^
osJraS dobroS 5<3abt3 asari asartra
abdradodsS 'adjrW daccDd SiacB.
?9) sajiraoJdadadaraBabSa^abaSld
u o do 3
xa s' o s,, a' a'a
3 d ob
3o3&>Jt5)Cb.
dobarobasahAiao^ri dga5 c3c diaSoS
5) laoqJs’, Sdoodolaaaida sarLra
tf,ob
adabcSaai'a'aSja a'ijo'dcria &',a'a
rio’&acrrtste
S^s'aaao'
S.rtjatfdetb.
d
V
(3 B‘aa
(ria s’ 3 o ob. 3aa c obi^) ob
asanba
•aob
a’Qda
ws^os'
sa ua aS tj) ob oa B cb 3) cb.
B)/ sa,3o3.,Bod
aSoaSScrad aaarba
cj ->?5
udtfj sao'co tfaaoa 3s?obd ab^V
dob,0
g) ssjbaKb Soartaa ab^d riaaaob
riaoZjJasafi ISa^aS uaSsad/isa^o^iSj
B’on'
la^s’o^^Boo'
zaooart
a’ods'craoart
yos'a'
d^s’orto'
5tf,ab;3obsa cre.obaoobdsS wqiasa
ab 33d
osS^asa d ara, t? aa d d aba o d
aS.SxbaS
uaSsad.
-> <4.
a’SaSjfQ'
*)
aa?>
40cab.
zsaB
(Va^riadjdSjSdcbibaod 3,abrWa.
41.
abeest^d sadr^abi
Supremacy of Higher
Standards
obaajjck oa^deaai/aabd^^w^aja
1.
«osaoa<^fob odouatfdV^ &.
S&rd <S,abrWa.
a. o' o jj B (ria <9m.ob ate o’ Aa, o s' ova
«3dabasad woddsb■add udjdVi^
o3 aaob^dd.
-•
i a
d»
ddobojaoBdao'
CsH
2-0
GOVPIRNMICM'l.' OK KARNATAKA
No.SWL 20 LBW 92
Kornetrako Govornman't Sa o?o tnrio t,
'Multistoreyed Building,
Bangalore , date d 10th Maiuary 1 995.1
■'
■
NOTIFICATION
■..'■•."■■
Whereas the
draft of the' Child Labour (Prohibition
end Ke. gu le tion) ( Ke rna'take) HuJ.es, 1 99 4 wns. published as required by eub-se c t ion (1 ) of ,Se cti on 10 of the Child Labour (Pro
hibition & Regulation) Act, 1 906 (Central Act No.61 of 1906)
in Part IV-2c(i) of the Karnataka Gazette dated 30.7.1 994
inviting objections/euggestions from, the persons likely to be
affe dte d the reby giving 15 days tires from the date of publics'tion of the said Notification.
p
,
!
i;
An<l whereon tho said Gaze tto woo mod,0 available to
the? public on 30.7.1.994,.
And whe ro.oe ho objections or suggestions have been.
received on the oni.d dioft.
'•
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred
by Sub-section (i) of Section I 3 read with subsectioii( 1 ) of
Sub-.apction 10 of the JChil'd LoboUr (Prohibition & Kagulntion)
Act, 1986 (Central Act No;61 of 1986), the Government of Kar
nataka hereby makes the following Rules, namely,
HULKS
,
.
1 •
8Hot jj_i;ij;le_ .'•'.P d_ commo nc^reon hi
These Rules may be colled
tho Chi Id ■ Wo If a xo (prohibition &. Regulation) (Karnataka) Rules,
1 995.
1
2.
They shall b? applicable
Kainatoko.
to the whole
3.
They shall corer into foreo
in the official Gazette.
from the
of tho State of
dote
1 IX? fini t done, : In the so RuJ.orf., unlenn the
requires:
•
?
■ („)
(b)
(c)
'Form'
im nns
!
form appended to these
of publication
context othorwioo
’
•
Rules
'-no pin tor1 monnr. rogiritnr maintained under Soction-11
of tin' Act:
’Schedule' neons the schedule appended to the Act.
2
r■
X
H£31S_of_work_ of_thg Child:
No chi1d e.ho 11 be re qui ro a
\
or allow a ■ to iwork in ran establishment for mors
r In ° wook -and-for''mor e 'than- fiye hours in a day. than 27 hour s
,',u
cfiAroi- The Certificate shell be issued -by
.•••; the Government. Me di. col/Officer not below the rank.of the Asei.
.- tent Surge onjor rs pulor' Mo d c al Director or equivalent rank
employed m Employee • State Insurance'- DiapenBariee. o r Hoepl:t<:tals .in Foim-B.
H
O* I'
*
*’
•
'
< *’•
'
-I
'
*
C !
•
*'
—ib-LI—particulars of the
[.V '•
5^-.';N° ilh'ilcl shall be
’
•
. •
.. ...
maintenance
».
'
i• C • •
re gistor :
'’
. ;.
required'or allowed to-.work'.in’’
' ei'-’oblishm.rn t': othar t.han/'th'cpe establishments ' in '
which hazardous occupo Lions ' or processes mentioned'
in Port-A on o’ Part-D'of the Schedule to. .the Act is
.carried on, fox more than 27 hours in any .week and
fol' mbxo then1 5 hours In a. day.
. ■
The re g is. ter shall be maintains d1’ on a yearly basis,
hut ’dinll be retained by the employer for' a period
oi 3 years after tho. date of’ the loot entry ma do
therein.
HopIth an±..ppf2 ty of tho ch i 1 d ro n in . t hq._£ghIjglhment.:
nolle of the
(i) In every establishmenta 11 the inside
I
rooms end oil the ceilings or tops of such rooms'(whether
such walls ceiling or tops bo plostorod or not) and- all tho .
;
pessogen and staircases shall be lime washed at least onco in
each year dating from ths period when last time, washed. All
.
beams, rafters, doors, window frames and other wood work, with.
the exception on floors '-shall bo either lime washed or colour ;
washed at least onco a year dating from the . po ricd who n last
j .time washed or colour washed, or shall be painted orvnmrehed.
cnce; in ‘nevon years dating from the peziod'wlren lost .pointe d . y
or varnished and r-holl bo kept in a clean state.
'
Vj,
'
(ii) No rubbir-h, filth or dobris shall bo allowed to accuirltt-lat'> or to remain on any premises in on establishment for
more than 12 hours and shall be disponed off in such manner
:
eh approved by tho Inspector.
shall be
hoists , eo toblishmo nt . |
groun<
r nou.x s y
uw
Px
v
'1
.f movement or passage
-----------
through J
.
proVlAoA wi th nt Wont two ®‘O to e f • a toir'q; l ori stops po'rmnnently.
fixed,, eithe r inside ’or outeid® rthe ...buiMn^^ so,' os,\to.- afford ■
direct and • uhiperi.de d :'s ccess f ro in ever y;:ipa^t: .'.o£ the . establish- •....,
■ment, to .the.- ground., level. ; Such . q tdirs '.sha.111 be? ipr.pvide d ' with o
suitable and sufficient handrail ox. ■ other, ‘cenven’ieht "e upp ort.
i- In eetabliehrneht.'.'O niplpying:." leapthan :40- pert} pns
the Inspector ;
, , may a oce pt in' lieu ' .ofpe cond. s® t?.<5 f. s .t.hlXe^.o.r s tops ■ sue h. _•
other means of: e scope,’, in,' case of; f ire;> ®.e... c an.. re as enable be ■
M. v re quire d; An the eix cumetancee. pf -e achi cpse . f;
'. , . '
< 't ' "
j,
i’
y;'-_
;VCvi
Evexy; window or door giving access to an external'.: •
^’’staircase' shall bo so arranged, as to open immediately from.’in-:
, side,..!;';,.;:- . ,
•[.’
' i" ■;/ '
' ■
■:
• ..‘.-j 1 .< v;■•.’*•»?
a nnka d light or
vicinity of any inflamable
material in any establishment
■r (viii) ' In every" e e tobliahrm nt effective arrangement shall
be made to provide ^drinking water and maintained at suitable
points conveniently situated so as to give access for ell
children employed therein.
' W ork on or no or machinery in motion;
No child shall be
allowed in any establishment to clean lubricate or adjust any .
part of the machinery while that port is- in mrtion.or to work
Between moving parts or between fixed and moving part” of -any
machinery which is in motion. No child shall work in spy '
machine declared to be dangerous arising in connection with the
machine and the precautions to be observed and has received.
sufficient training' in work at the machine or is under ade
quate supervision under a person who has thorough knowledge
and experience of the machine.
Prohibition of employment of child near cotton openers;
No child, shall be employed in any part of n factory for
pressing cotton in which a cotton opens x is at work.
BY OKBEFi AND IN THE NAME OF THE
GOVEHNOh OF KAKNATAKA
P
(c.sakoja)/
Under So oxo tary to (iovornment
Labour Dopar tmont
To
fox- publication in tho
Copy to:
1.
2.
3,
4.
5.
6.
The Conaiiesicna r for Labour, VlSL House, JiC.Roar’i
Bcnjelore.
<'
.
'1 .
;
■ Tha Doputy' Commisoionere of oil Districts,
,
. i
The Chief Executive Officers of oil Zilla Panohayats
All Deputy Labour Commiesionbre/AsB istsnt Labour
,
Commissions is/'Lobour Officers, in the State
.
through Labour Commissioner.
The Dapoitmant of Low & Pnilieirentory Affaire (Drafting)
Press for Publication.
..
' • z
Extract of the Universal declaration of Human Rights,
Article 1.
AH human beings is bom free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all die rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distiction of any
kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to a life, liberty and security of a person.
Article 4.
forms.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the Jaw.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating tire
fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by the law.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbritary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in
the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
A, Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty
according to the law in a public trial
B) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal
offence, under national or international law at the time when it was committed.
Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbritrary interference with his privacy, family home or correspondence, nor to
attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of tire law against such interference or
attacks.
Article 13.
A) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. B)
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14.
A) Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
B) This right
may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the
purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15.
A) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
B) No one shall be arbritrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change Iris nationality.
Article 16.
A) Men and Women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to
marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and its dissolution. B)
Marriage shall be enterend into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. C) The family is the natural and
fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State,
Article 17.
A) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
shall be arbritrary deprived of his property.
B) No one
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change
his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion
or belie f in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, rccicve and inpart information and ideas through any media and regardless af frontiers.
Article 20.
A) Everyone has the right to freedom af peaceful assembly and'association. B) No one may be compelled
to belong to an association.
Article 21.
A) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives. B) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
C) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and
genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting
procedures.
^trticle 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through
Rational effort and international co-operation with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and
cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23.
A) Everyone has the right to wor, to free choice of employment, to just and favouable conditions of work
and to protection against unemployment B) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
C) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his famfly an existence
worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. D) Everyone has the right to
form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay.
Article 25.
A) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of bis
family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event
of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control
B) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether bom in or out of wedlock,
shall enjoy the same social protection.
^Bticle 26.
A) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental
stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. B) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthning of respect for human rights and fundamental freedom. It shall promote understanding,
tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for
the maintnance of peace. C) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27.
A) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy tire arts and to
share in scientific advancement and its benifits. B) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29.
A) Everyone has duties to tire community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is
possible. B) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined
by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting
the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. C) These rights and freedoms
may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be inteipreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to
engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any' of the rights and freedoms set forth in herein.
SHANTHI QUEST
Vol:l No:l, November 1994
Quest Clubs in Bangalore:
Indeed a Need
Exciting Seminar in Sight:
The right to be human 1
Painting Competition:
What is happening tn schools
on the 9th ofNovember?
Peace Components:
Sharing our thoughts.
The Club Page:
The Quest has started. ( tub by
('lub
Mahiln Sajnakhya:
d report from the fields
Peace(?H6Ls7/Kiirnataka
(Bangalore Center)
Qua! Clubs in Bangaloreindeed a need?
and die world remains green and
beautiful
Quest Clubs
could
participate actively to achieve
sonic results in this field loo
Illiteracy and Poverty are
characteristic
companions
in
developing countries. These are
problems that take a long time to
Il IB r strange twin! of fate
that Io the land oi YOGA.
AlIIMSAfNon-Violence)
and
SPIRITUALISM, a cool breeze of
Peace education blows from far of
Sweden This is the land of Buddha
and Gandhi, yet ironically, it is a
land where the need for an
education to achieve Peace in all its
nch hues, not only exists, but is
also an urgent necessity
Usually
in
India,
an
individual's major preoccupation is
that of making a living through a
dependable form of employment.
Thus one’s priorities tend to
converge on the three main
essentials as we see it and
colloquially pm as "Roti, Kapda
and Makaan" which literally means
"Bread, Clothing and Shelter” The
need to link up issues erealer than
oneself requires to be emphasised
Here is where the Quest Clubs
come in.
The great loss suffered bv
humanity due to the progressive
deterioration of the flora and fauna
of the country is now making
people sit up and think. There is a
need to act now so that succeeding
generations benefit from our efforts
PEACE
overcome Particularly so when
there is a population explosion .
One of the evils of this situation is
child labour. One sees children
trying to earn a living at work all
day. when they should actually have
been at school. They have lost their
childhood Quest Clubs could
contribute significantly by teaching
such children in the evenings or at
suitable hours during the weekend
The theme "Think GloballyAct
Locally”
sounds
very
encouraging to pursue. One could
learn to take one's first steps to
grow into a full fledged citizen of
die world by the initial progress
made in one's own neighbourhood
lhe movement can thus slowly and
surely grow into a force to reckon
with.
- B.M.Muddaiya
■
by
/ACTIVITIES
Questers
sHAN-nn quest
I, .
,
^Xt^T0n5rQbfllIhed
“°‘ neceMari»y
T the or^rtlon.
EdUers is this ferae: Anns Lcnneby and Saagectn Csvale.
Addraw:
102 R«y^
BU<k 2,
No.» Brunton Road, Bangalore 560025, Ph.^1 80 3582m Fax. m W 358277?
(«ttn.Pe«cc(?uer/)
Hcre «r® some thoughts on three of the major components of PEACE that
y-v,
we have been introducing to the Quest Chibs in Karnataka
('anflict Management- Live and lei tive
Diffuse
t e ns i on
< onflict is a part of life it is as natural as living itself It exists in
various forms and in varying intensity in almost every sphere of human
activity (for concern is to seek ways and means of managing conflicts which.
if left unattended to or mismanaged, could lead to violence or even largescale bloodshed
Prejudices exist in the mind of a person or a group of persons These
are the nurseries where conflict takes root Prejudices are often based on
mistaken concepts. The key to overcoming such a state is ’’communication'
*.
A dialogue oo the areas of conflict is an essential tool for its management ft
could lead to a clear identification of the stands of the parties concerned, and
the specific issues get defined. The next stage would be an acceptance of
these positions Thereafter come the negotiations, where the attitude of giveand-take plays a significant role The conflict would thus be narrowed down
and hopefully a solution found
Democracy- "Information is the currency of democracy"
Democracy is an age-old concept Most people would probably agree
that it is a good tiling to have But what is more important is that we need to
cherish democracy, learn to defend it and strengthen it Democratic thinking
also has to be incorporated into everyday life- at the home, school/college,
work etc
Democracy should be made to work in a peaceful manner. Tolerance,
cooperation, respect for human rights, civic responsibility and awareness of
one’s duties, are some of the key factors upon which democracy depends. A
free flow of unbiased information, plenty of open dialogue and negotiation.
and the ever vigilant 'watchdog' citizen- aft this is needed if democracy is Io
flower and flourish So let's work together to moke it really work for us'
Human Rights— For a kinder world
w
Vix
The inequalities in nature's creations are called to one's notice by the
proverbial reference to the human fingers being of different sizes. The animal
world has a law of its own and there is no unnecessary harassment, torture or
genocide The law of the jungle aims at a balance in natural existence.
The human being unfortunately does not seem to be so governed. Each
day one bears of reports of atrocities committed against some people or other.
The greater tragedy here is that the victims themselves are rarely guilty
individually or collectively of any enme that has been adjudged in a court of
law This state of affairs gave rise to the creation of the Hunan Rights Bill of
the UN.
It is now necessary to draw the attention of those who lead
comfortable lives, that persecution in varying degrees may exist even in one’s
own neighbourhood Child labour, dowry iystem, female mftnticide, the ill
trrstmert of the girl child are some of the instances which highlight that the
UN Bill needs to be farther publicised. Quest Clubs intend to take up these
issues to spread awareness among people so that the victimisation of the
innocent could bo reduced progressively end stopped finally
The Quest Club Page!
PewxQuest
Karnataka it part of
the Global Quest Club Project This
is what the different colleges in
Bangalore have done so far; Club by
Club. For the next edition of
SHANTHI QUEST we hope the
Clubs themselves will contribute to
this page.
Uffval Vldhyalaya
The Club members here are 16-17
years old. The first Club meeting
was held on the 8th of August The
college premises are very green and
peaceful-an ideal place to start a
Quest Club The members have
decided to embark upon an "Each
One. teach one” Campaign This is a
project where students donate some
time for teaching a child or even an
adult, or atleast motivating him/her to
study The Club members will also
observe one day as "Cleanliness
Day" in the college. So far they have
presented a discussion and skit about
the Hindu - Muslim conflict a veryrelevant theme in Bangalore today
The elected President here is
V Srinivas Chari.
Mr M L
Ramesha is Club Coordinator
NLE.S Teachers College
The first Club meeting was held on
the 25th of August PQK liad.
anticipated 15 volunteers but 34
showed up and the very enthusiastic
response came as a pleasant
aurpriae!
Group
leaders
were
chosen
Sunny
Augustine
was
Stjoreyh'i CoDoge of
and B urinesi AdmfrdrtratUn
The 1st meeting was held on
2nd
September, and Ketan Gupta was
nominated President. Mr Jerome
Nirmalraj is the Coordinator.
A
PQK. sponsored poster campaign on
burning issues like child labour,
environment, the girl child etc is now
the major project The posters will
be exhibited al different college
festivals- an excellent way of
promoting PeaceQuest. The Club is
also planning a donation campaign of
the excess food from five star hotels
to orphanages and old age homes.
Vidya Vardhaka Sangha 1st Grade
College
We established a Club on the 30th of
August.
Office-bearers
were
nominated unanimously. The students
seem to be really interested in the
Movement and are led by Ms
Jasantha Dorairaj The President
here is B.V. Sandhya
AJ-Ametn College
Pe&crQuest staff adressed the Class
representatives on the 8th of
September The response from the
students has been verv enthusiastic
We are yet to form a Club at this
college, but we are very eager to do
so. Al-Ameen is a predominantly
Muslim college and is for men only
Mr. Mirza Ali Abbas and Mr.
Shabeod Khan will spearhead the
Movement
Acharya Women's CoDege
unanimously nominated President
The Coordinator here is Mr A N
Vijaya Murthy The Club has been
This college is situated in a small
(own called Gaunbidanur in Kola:
very active inspite of a hectic
academic schedule So fw thev have
pul up a presentation on the bus
svstem in Bangalore, a programme
on child labour including a moving
skit and a very organised and well
planned discussion on the caste
svstem
district We set up b Club here on the
20th of Septembei
I he response
from these "rural" voting women has
been overwhelming file President ot
the Club. Miss Roopa. was elected
by a secret ballot Ihe Principal, Mi
K Vamha Murthv. himself is Club
Cooidmstoi There aie seventy-six
members as of dale'
The (Twerffor an emblem
Our organization is looking
for a mark of identification-an
Emblem. We plan to hold a
competition in colleges where we
have Quest Clubs. Students have
been asked to draw an attractive,
innovative and eyecatching emblem
which can also be reproduced on a
small badge. The deadline for this
competition is 31st October in
order to have it ready for the
seminar.
Painting Competition
On the next page Sangeeta
has written an article on Children’s
Day To commemorate this day, we
are
arranging
a
painting
competition under the aegies of
PeaceQuest Karnataka. The theme
will be the Dangers of Violence/
War School children of M.E.S,
lljjval Vidhyalaya and Vidya
Vardhaka
in
Bangalore and
Acharya Women's College in
Gauribidanur shall participate The
paricipants are divided into two
groups, one group with children
from the 1st to the 4th class and the
other group consisting of children
from 5th class upto the 10th. The
competition is to take place on the
9th of November and the winners’
names are to be announced on
Children's Day- 14th November
The Quest Club in the school will
select the ten best and send them to
the P(7K office where a panel of
liidges will select the two best tn
each category
The right to b« Humanl
We are planning to
conduct a seminar/ workshop on
Dec. 3rd, 1994 on some of the
socio/economic aspects of Human
Rights viz. Dowry system. Child
Labour and Literacy. This will be
our first opportunity to have
representatives of all our Clubs
under one roof for at least a few
hours. It is an exciting prospect We
see Club members making new
friends, learning of Club activities
and practices al other colleges To
us it would seem like a large family
get-together
To ensure that
we
capitalize on such a meet, we plan
to organise a programme where
every member will be encouraged
to participate. It ie intended to
have a formal opening session of
about 90 minutes . In this, a key
note address on Human Rights will
be delivered by a prominent
speaker, the other invited speakers
will each deal with one of the
three subjects chosen.
This is to be followed by
group discussions. Three groups
are to be formed Student members
are
expected
to
lead
the
discussions
Finally,
chosen
representatives of each group will
be called upon to address the
audience on the subject They may
propose a plan of action for Quest
Clubs to pursue- to act locally and
contribute in their own way
towards the progress of humanity
Invitations
for
this
seminar will be sent to the Clubs,
when all the necessary details
have been worked out
Shashi Ramachandn
Children's Day
In India, the 14th of
November is a special day it is the
birth anniversary of our first Prune
Minister,
Jawaharlal
Nehru
Chacha (Uncle) Nehru loved
children and celebrating his
birthday as Children's Day is one
way of paying tribute to this jovial,
humane and almost child- like side
of his personality.
Personally, I never made
much of Children's Day as a kid It
was a school holiday and that meant
a day off and wow. that seemed like
so much fun! No school, no studies
Great!
Today, my perceptions have
changed Children's Day has
assumed a new significance As 1
emerged from the blissful ignorance
of childhood to those "difficult"
teenage years and then moved on to
early adulthood and finally am an
adult (Thank Goodness), 1 am
saddened. Saddened by scenes of
poverty.
hunger.
exploitation,
sorrow and despair. And when I
see children suffer for no fault of
theirs. 1 realise how fortunate 1 was
to have had a "good" childhood
Children's Day receives
much media coverage. The P.M
and the President felicitate a select
few on this day Sweets and candy
is distributed and there is much
gaiety in the air. That’s it The day
is over and the sun goes down. It
rises again the next day and life
moves on
I believe we should think
about the stale of children al! over
the world Children are our treasure
and they shall inherit the Earth.
They are our future and our hope
Children's Day is here to remind us
that we need to learn more about
young people, their hopes and
aspirations, their dreams
and
desires,
their
problems
and
difficulties. We need to take
children seriously, respect them as
individuals and allow them to
grow. They need SPACE and
tenderness, love and affection, and
discipline but not harshness.
I think children should enjoy
themselves everyday and more so
ou Children’s Day. I really hope
that teachers, educators, parents and
all 'grownups' make this day a
memorable one. Children need to
feel really special and cherished.
My teachers didn't really do that for
me But 1 hope kids today are made
to feel very good, especially on
Children's Day.
- Sangeeta Cavale
©
©
©
Rooted in Reality-reaching for
the stars
As a voluntca lor
Peace
Karnataka. I have come in
contact with mother NGO (Non
tJovcmnicntal Orp) rifled Mahila
Ssmakhya M S Karnataka b >
women's orpmsitwa and worts in
rural areas Fbe idea is lo loan groupsSanghas tn villages MSK behoves that
the most important task is to enable
rural women to articulate their feelings
experiences and to allow
themselves personal space.
The sangha brings together
women belonging to various religions,
castes, classes and soda! backgrounds.
This makes it develop a strength and a
character ot its own.
Sanghas
organise themselves mto commitlees
at the village, taluk, district and state
levels. There arc committees for
literacy, environment, health and
economic development programmes
One or rwo women of each
committee
pct
craning
m a
context, and was most impressed.)
In the cvenmpj 1 was happy
whenever there was a power shutdown
since that meant entertainment m the
form of singing and dancing m the light
of a gas lamp- exotic for a Swede!
A hcahh seminar had been
arranged by the Rotary Club in
Bijapur AD the Sahayogims were
present as wtD as around 100 sangha
women. The MSK coordinator m
Bijapur. Ms. Nirmala Shiraguppi was
invited to talk and the Rotary Club
wanted me to speak about what I was
_ doing in India and what I thought
about their seminar Although I was
very nervous. I managed to speak
beaunfiilty about the PcaccQurst
Movement and thanked them for
inviting me
One of the most
memorable moments was when a
sangha woman told those gathered at
the auditorium- This is not a drama.
this is our reality So go out to your
viDages and WORK!
On the last day of my stay.
Nirmala took me mto the fields. We
went to visit a Lambani viDage. There
the sangha women were sewing and
selling bcautifiil mirrorwork shawls and
garments In the other village we
visited, a sangha house had just been
constructed. This was a unique
expencncc for me. as n was the first
time I had seen a smaD village with
mudhuts.
The womenfolk were
working in the cottonfields when we
came-but most of the men were idle!
This was dear proof for me that there
is i need for organizations tike MSK
and Sanghas in India.
I was really tad leaving
Bijapur. as I had such a good time
there and learnt so much about Indian
culture. My heart is filled with respect,
love and admiration for these women
trying to change a suppressive society
which has iTs roots in centuries of
tradition
Thank You MSK for a
lovely stay!
district
workshop and when they go back to
the sangha tn then village, they will
share their knowledge with the others
A Swede in the Fid dr
I left for Bijapur on the 27th
of September, the ride for 10 hours
was an adventure tn itself Bumpy and
with loud Hindi music for several
hours. It was early in the morning
when 1 reached the MSK house
outside Bijapur 1 bad come to observe
a Sahayogjni meeting A Saharyogini is
like i tutor for about 10 villages. In
Bijapur district there arc 20
Sahoyogmis and I was about to attend
their monthly meeting. The meeting
goes on for three days and it is the
forum for the Sainyogixs to talk
about the present problems facing the
sanghas as wefl as discussing different
topics like leadership and the future
of Maida Samakhya
The day started with saigmg a
song and then lighting a candle and
quietly concentrating abotX the topic
for the day before discussmg it 1 was
thrilled to see and fed (be intensity
of the discussioasfunfbrturatcfy I
didn't understand iO of it since my
knowledge of languages does not
include Kannada, but I understood the
Anna Lmneby
>
Peace(7>/c5r Network
Peace Quest
102 Royal Residency, Block 2TNo 8 Brunton Road, Bangalore- 560025
India Ph +91 80 5582127 Fax ^91 80 ^58 2772 (attn. Pcaccguev)
Peace Qu est
Samarbete for Fred, Lundagatan 56, 1 17 28 Stockholm. Sweden.
Ph +46 8 6697520, Fax +46 8 849016
Peace Quest
4201 Mass Ave . NW. Suite 3026 Washington. DC20016 USA
Ph * 1 202 88< 674? Fax . | 202 862 976?
Peace Quest
Baltic lnf'1 l enter ol Human Education A. enes iela 16-219
V/HM8 Riga. l_»rvia Ph .171 ? 617787 l ax < 171 2 212206
I.
The Global Quest Club project
" Empowering students and educators
to work for a healthy and peaceful future
Promoting Democracy, Human Rights and
peaceful Management of conflicts
all over the World
PeaccQuest International
1994
Longing for Peace
Programmes and Activities
is part of Humankind's quest for a better life. War and
violence in the 1990s still plague many parts of our world.
We are all threatened by the prevailing risks of the failure to
dismantle nuclear arsenals.
guestClubs. The Global Quest Club project invites students
and educators from all continents to contribute to the planning
of their future through a practical and constructive approach.
This exercise in "Thinking Globally, Acting Locally" gives the
opportunity to organize seminars and activities in schools and
communities around themes including Democracy, Human
Rights, Conflict Management, Environment Awareness and
Sustainable Development.
Quest Clubs cooperate actively with partner Clubs in different
countries, giving their grassroots initiative a truly international
character.
The PeaceQuest movement believes in the need and
opportunity to empower youth, students and educators to be
able to work for a healthy and peaceful future. Our
programmes and activities are designed to provide an initiative
to youngsters and adults to support positive change through
education, tolerance and communication. We like to believe
that we humans can develop the skills essential to the
realization of lasting peace and sustainable development on
Earth.
Think Globally
Most problems facing the world today can only be solved at the
international level. Issues such as global wanning,
disarmament, and trade regulations affect people across
national borders. National and international decisions must be
favourable for all humanity.
Recognize Similarities
By focusing on our common beliefs, problems and goals,
instead of our differences, we shift attention to action which is
both supportive and constructive. The common bond of our
humanity provides a potential for unity that by far exceeds the
limits of our respective value systems.
is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to peace
education and citizen diplomacy. Its activities embraces a
growing number of countries.
Guided by a vision of a future world defined by lasting,
positive peace, sustainable development, democracy and
human rights, PeaceQuest members have been innovators of
unique peace education programmess for over 10 years.
Your participation in PeaceQuest can influence the fate of the
Earth!
The Global Quest Club Project
in brief
Peaceguesr Tours. In this unique student-diplomat
exchange programme, young questers from different
backgrounds tour together in search of knowledge and
approaches for creating peace between peoples. Since 1988,
PeaceQuest Tours have brought together young people from
East and West Europe, North America and Asia. On tour,
PeaceQues/ers discuss politics, economics and history with
diplomats and fellow-students, professors and grandmothers,
scientists and steelworkers. They sample the arts, appear on
TV and learn about local culture. From Ministries to family
Wdtchens, PeaceQuestets experience both political and everyday
"ife.
Honour Differences
People hold many different beliefs and values.Honouring these
differences, cultural and otherwise, is essential for peace. We
can learn to cooperate as much with people and nations with
different values as we do with our closest friends.
Peacetguetf
International Youth Camps. Each year, young people from
around the world come together to form a "global village" in
the countryside, learning about each other's culture and
government, hopes and fears. They argue, play sports, and
above all become friends. "Enemy" stereotypes shatter,
assumptions change and together they plan their future.
Accept Opportunities
Peace Seminars. In week-long seminars in capital cities
stretching from Washington to New Delhi, students from
different countries are introduced to the theory and practice of
international peace-making. They attend lectures, do creative
exercises and question diplomats, politicians and activists on
current events.
Peace-making is everyone's business. Each and every
individual can make a difference in one way or another. We
must strive to seize opportunities to improve life at all levels personal, local, regional and global. PeaceQuest offers
opportunites to meet this challenge through a variety oj^
creative activities.
Education Campaigns. Information campaigns on issues of
global concern are initiated year-round by members of the
PcaccQuest network. For current and future decision-makers,
rotation on such issues as Human Rights and Sustainable
elopment is the key to empowerment for change.
«
To empower students and teachers to work for a
healthy and peaceful future
* Clubs associated with schools and colleges promote
participatory democracy, awareness of and respect for
human rights and conflict management through education
and training, supporting a transition towards peace.
* First clubs in Latvia 1993,activities 1994 in Karnataka,
Zambia and Chile, from 1995 in more countries.
* Development of Club models concentrated to Bangalore
(from June 94); well functioning models and materials
then to be used initially in Karnataka, Zambia and Chile.
* Initiation of and continous support to Quest Club
activities through regional PeaceQues/ Centers.
* Longer term goal: Well established global network of
Quest Clubs , making a significant, sustainable
contribution to the cause of peace. Growing number of
decision-makers with Quest Club background will support
peace education and contribute to conflict management
resources in their countries and well as globally.
* International coordination work is presently done by
PeaceQuest International board members, Alan Frisk
(USA/Latvia), Valentin Seveus (Sweden), and Jakob Strom
(Sweden). Evolving partner organizations (PeaceQuest
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/lune 9+pqifoliV
Summary of the Key-note address of Justice H.G Balakrishna.
Human Rights
Human Rights have been described as the Gadfly of International law. Today, they have
acquired an air of legitimacy and compulsion not only in International affairs but also in the relations
between the State and its citizens especially in countries which believe in Rule of Law, democracy
and self government Human Rights have moved on to the centre-stage today in Global relations,
stressing the need to emphasise and encourage the effective exercise of civil, political, economic,
social, cultural and other rights and freedoms.
Human rights emanate from the Natural Law Concept that the rights are universal, inalienable
possessions of the individuals everywhere as expressed by great thinkers like John Locke,
Montesquieu, the authors ofthe Magna Carta and the famous declaration of independence by Thomas
Jefferson.
The urgency and relevance of human rights was keenly felt after the end of World War II as
the war revealed the horrors inflicted by Nazi Germany on utterly helpless civilian population and’the
mass genocide of innocent people.
~
'
World-widesupport grew for the formulation of human rights standards. America took the
initiative for inclusion in its foreign policy, for the first time in its relations with other nations. Even
before America entered into World War U, president Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech
on 6-1-1941 and defined the four basic rights essential to the
of Worl d'Order. They are:
1.
Freedom of Speech and Expression.
Freedom ofReligiom
2.
3.
Freedom from Want
4.
Freedom from fear everywhere in the world.
These ideas of human rights were reflected in the Atlantic Charter announced on 14-8-1941 by
the Big Two namely President Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill.
Later, in the U.N declaration of 1942 which paved the way for U.N’s establishment in 1945,
the signatory countries solemnly promised adherence to the Atlantic Charter. Article 55 and 56.of
U.N Charter predicate the assurance that U.N would promote " Human rights, and fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion” and would require all
member nations to take joint and separate action in cooperation with the U.N.
On 10th December 1948, the U.N General Assemblybaptised the Universal Declaration of
HumanRigfats-India signedAtlantic Charter before independence and signed the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights after Independence. Let it be known that the Declaration was formed by
the principles of the American Bill of Rights, the British Magna Carta, and the French Declaration of
the rights of men.
Besides the convenants drawn up by the Human Rights Commission, the U.N and its
specialised agencies have written several other human rights conventions which include one on
Genocide adopted by the U.N General Assembly on 9-12-1948 and one on the political rights of
women adopted in 1950.
The largest Human rights organisation is Amnesty International which is an independent body
fimdecf by subscriptions and donations from its more than 500,000 members world-wide, and being
based in London, it claims .to have morethan 3000 local groups in more than 50 countries including
Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America and Middle East in order to monitor human rights
practises.
Amnesty International bases its assessments on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and other international declarations. It is the chief source of information for the U.S State
Department’s annual country practises Reports.
There are three cateRoriesof human rights.
1.
The right to be free from governmental violations of the integrity of the person. Suchjyiolations
include, torture, cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary arrest, or
imprisonment, denial of fair public trial and invasion ofhome or privacy!
2.
The right to the fulfilment of such vital needs as food, shelter, medicare(Health care) and education
3.
The right to enjoy civil liberties and political liberties like freedom of thought, of religion, of
assembly, of speech, of the press, freedom of movement both within and outside one's own country
midfreedom to takepart in government Recognised by the U.N, the list of human rights includes the .
rights of the Child, vacations with payfor workers, maternity leave, full employment and free
medicare.
'
—
.
Child Labour
Our Constitution prohibits Child labour but fee practise persists. Ineffectiveness of the
constitution in this regard needs analysis. The constitution is not self/executing instrument. It is the
people who should be vigilant and ensure that the constitution is honoured. How, is the question.
1.
By creating public awareness.
2.
By educating Are child about its constitutional rights.
3.
By taking the bureaucrats to task for aot implementing the law.
4.
By educating and pressurising the political parties.
5.
By educating the parents.
6.
By encouraging the children to go to schools in order to avail themselves of the right to free and
compulsory education!
—-------------- >
7.
By renewing the laws in order to eradicate the defects in the legislations.
8.
By forming a consortium of social activists, voluntary agencies, lawyers and judicial officers as
well as Legislators to put their heads together for revising the laws relating to prohibition of child
labour.
■
9rBy~initiating public interest litigation before the courts for enforcement of the law.
10.
By introducing the Child Rights Convention in file curriculum of studies at appropriate level of
education!
~
*’
11.
By coordinating and centralising the work of various governmental departments to improve the lot
of children.
12.
By fixing accountability on the power-wielders by legislation for non-implementation of child
labour laws.
Dowry system
This evil has been dogging our society and has taken a heavy toll of innocent and helpless
women. The fault lies with the men who are after money and who use the wife as the lever. Though
there is a law prohibiting dowry, it has not been effective JWhy is it so?
1.
Man has become half monkey and half beast The moral, ethical and spiritual values have been
brushed aside. He regards marriage as sale of the bride. To him, the marriage is neither a sacramental
tie nor a social contract To him, it is a sale agreement This mental attitude must change. A
psychological revolution has to be started to educate the male and transform the animal in man into a
divine man. The horrors of dowry practise have to be driven home, may be, at the early stages of
education and that to demand and take dowry is a sin must be driven home. Tender age is the best
stage to enlighten the boy and girl of the evils of dowry system. What would he do if it happens to his
sister?
2.
By effective enforcement of law.
3.
By helping-fee court with sufficient-evidence.
4.
By educating fee prosecutors,police officers, judicial officers an lawyersof fee spirit offee
legislation.
---------- —
5.
By awarding punishmentcommenBuratewith thegravity of the offence.
6.
By not compromising with the evil by refusing to accept compensation from the accused and by
refusing to withdraw the caseor by not indulging in overt or covert sabotage of the case for the sake
dfmoney.
7.
By shifting the burden of proof on the accused.
8.
By speedy di sposal of cases.
9.
By the Bar extending free legal aid to the victim's parents.
Compulsory education
Free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 years has been made a fundamental, righty
by the Supreme Court Education imparts knowledge and knowledge is power. The primary dutyof
every state is to give free and compulsory education to all up to die age of 14 years as seen from
Article 45 of our constitution.
The child has the right to be educated. The parents are duty-bound to send the children to
schoo.l. The constitution envisaged the total implementation of the right within 10 years from die date
of commencement of the constitution. But 45 years have elapsed. The job has not been completed.
What is the remedy?
1.
Create awareness among die parents and the children.
2.
By having primary schools in every village in accordance with the child population apart from
Urban areas.
3.
By enlisting the help of Big business houses and charitable foundations and philantrophers
including political parties in the establishment and maintenance of primary schools apart from the
obligation of the state in doing so.
4.
By locating the schools at convenient distance from the village.
5.
By providing sufficient teachers and proper conditions for teaching.
6.
By providing free mid-day meals to children in order to ease the burden on the poor parents,
having due regard for nutrition.
7.
By changing the pattern and nature of education so that it is productive and profitable to the child
and its family, with emphasis on self-employment.
8.
To fix accountability on the officials for not implementing the constitutional obligation.
9.
To revise the pattern and nature of education to be imparted to the children up to the age of 14.
10.
By paying due attention especially to die street children in educating and rehabilitating them.
11.
Bygiving due importance to good teaching.
12.
By ensuring that the standards set up by CRC are adhered to in the matter of educating the child.
13.
Topopularise social, legal or judicial activism to respond to the specific needs of the girl child
regarding her right to survival development, protection and participation.
14.
To introduce more stringent laws prohibiting female foeticide, compulsory registration of births
and deaths of all female children in particular and provideequalopportunity for girls and boys to
participate in all social sector schemes dealing with health, nutrition and education.
15JBy community-awareness campaign through mass media and door to door approach regarding die
values of Primary education in a more vigorous and effective manner.
16.
B.y_liberating the child from bonded labour.
17.
In the establishment of primary schools, the simple, utilitarian and economicalstructures as found
in Kerala state is worthy of emulation,, in preference to concrete or brick-made buildings.
18.
To build lobby and pressure groups to get the work done.
19.
There is an alarming increase in school-dropouts and it is necessary to examine the causes and to
devise the remedies.
20.
There is gender bias against girl-child especially in rural areas thereby affecting their education
and steps should be taken to remove the misconception of the parents.
Conclusion
Human rights vanish into thin air when they are in the vortex of international power politics
when principles are compromised and the real champions of human rights are confined to the wheel
chair helplessly watching murders being committed on the other side of the street
The cause ofhuman rights flashed across the international scene like the shooting star, bright,
amazing and fleeting Suddenly the sky is empty and it seems as if the event is remembered only by
academic astronomers busily engaged in analysing their findings. The motely crowd ofhuman right
exponents are engaged in an endless struggle and Human rights has become a relatively low cost
enterprise and a twentieth century novelty according to some critics.
Pascal exclaimed three centuries ago that what is truth on one side of the Pyrenees is false on
the other. Today, it is no less true. Human rights are looked at differently in Totalitarian States as
well as Theocratic States though what is good for the goose ought to be good for the gander.
There is a strange co-existence ofgood and evil in all societies and so in the human beings.
The effort is to minimise the evil and not to totally eliminate it But one thing is certain to my mind
and that is, man's inhumanity to man can be stemmed if in the mind of man, the seeds of compassion,
Dharam, truth, morality, and justice and fair-play germinate. There is much to learn from the law of
nature. I repeat the words of William Wordsworth
"One impulse from the vernal wood, may teach you more of man, ofmoral, evil and good than
all the sages can."
What the concept of human rights ultimately means is the transformation of man and the system
into a divine force.
Beautiful Thoughts
One of the articles.of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is that all men are bom
equal. The preamble to our constitution proclaims dignity of the individual and unity of the nation.
Our society has not given up social hierarchy and fragmentation on the basis of high and low. There is
an undeniable division of our society with graded inequality in social life. How can we expect unity
of the nation with a divided society? The social evil is still persisting despite constitutional
declaration. There should be a confluence of the philosophy of our constitution and the social,
philosophy. Is it not time to tweak out of this artificial barrier which has seriously damaged the
integrity of our country?
The flower of freedom and democracy can only flourish in a virtuous garden, is a vision
which should not allude us.
There must be a passion and capacity for the enjoyment of liberty. There must be a sense of
personality in each and respect for a personality in all, generally spread through the whole community
of human beings, if a truly democratic state can be frilly achieved. This is possible only in a
community which has achieved a sufficient standard of material existence and a sufficient degree of
homogeneity to devote itself to an ideal of liberty which has to be worked out in each by the common
effort of all. Achievement of quality of life is an ideal dream of all freedom-loving people.
If the problem ofnational homogeneity is still insistent and there is no common feeling of
fellowship, if some sections of the community are regarded by others as essentially alien and
heterogeneous either on ground of their inferior education or on ground of their inferior stock or
descent or on any other ground, the ideal of common life of freedom will be an illusion.
CHILD LABOUR IM THE HOSIERY INDUSTRY OF TIRUPPUR
BY
C.NAMBI
INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO:
Widespread employment of child labour has become a common
feature of many of the third world countries to which India is
not an exception.
The condition is so bad that there is no need
to go anywhere to see the child labour - just open up your eyes "the picture will start running in front of you.
From primitive
agriculture to modern industry we witness the employment of
children
between
employed
in
the
ages
of
most hazardous
5
and
14.
occupations.
Children
They
are
work
also
under
humiliating conditions without having any freedom to express the
torture
they undergo
childhood.
and
in
fact they are
deprived
of
their
It is estimated that around 200 million children all
over the world go through this ordeal of torture, suffering and
depreviation.
SCENARIO AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL:
Several
estimates
have been made
about
the magnitude
of
child workers in India.
According to Global Labour Force Estimates of the I.L.O,
every fifth child
the age group of 10 - 14 years was
in
part of the country's active labour force.
The number of
child workers in India was estimated at 15.1 million in 1975.
1
*
The NSS 32nd round (1977-78) estimated child workers in the
*
According to
age group 5-14 at 16.25 million in 1978.
1981 census 13.6 million children are in the
labour force (11.2 million as main workers and 2.4 million
as marginal workers).
*
In 1983, the Planning Commission had projected the number of
*
The findings of the
child workers at 17.36 million.
Operations Research group,
Baroda
(Published in 1983) came up with an estimate of 44 million
This number is widely accepted
working children in India.
as being closest to reality.
*
The
Balai
Data
child workers.
Bank,
Manila
estimates
about
111
million
If nearly half of India's (over 800 million)
population lives in poverty, the number of working children
in India is likely to be over 100 million.
*
The Labour Minister while announcing a plan to liberate 2
million working children in August,
1994,
said that there
0
are 20 million child workers.
1/3
Labourers
of
the
are
world
found
Child
in
are
in
India.
like
1.
Agriculture
Labourers
occupations
6.
Hosiery
and
other
allied
industries
bangles 8. Zari and embroidery 9. Machine tools
7.
2.
and fire
Plantations 3. Mining and quarrying 4. Bidi 5. Match
works
Child
Glass
and
repair shops 10.
Gem cutting and polishing 11. Cashew processing and manufacturing
of coir products 12.
Handloom and carpet-weaving 13.
2
Domestic
workers 14. Helpers in hotels, restaurants, canteens, tea-stalls,
shops
and
wayside
establishments.
Construction 17. Hawkers,
15.
Rag-picking
16.
Vendors, newspaper sellers 18. Coolies
etc. . . .
SCENARIO IN TAMIL NADU:
In Tamil Nadu there were 9,75,055
marginal workers)
1981.
(871313 main and 103742
working children below the age of
15 during
Working children formed about 5% of the total workforce in
Tamil Nadu.
districts
The
incidence
of
child workers
varies
across
the
Apart from the well known child
of Tamil Nadu.
employment in Sivakasi. area in the match and fire industries,
large concentration of child labour exist in the Beedi industries
in North Arcot - Ambedkar,
Trichy and Nellai - Kattabomman
districts, Tanneries in Dindigul and in the hosiery industry of
Tiruppur.
Besides
these,
children
are
also
employed
in
unorganised sectors like agriculture and being employed in
hotels, workshops of different
and unloading,
kinds, construction work, loading
shoe-polishing and rag-picking.
We can say that
there is no activity without the employment of child labour.
3
SCENARIO OF CHILD LABOUR IN THE HOSIERY INDUSTRY OF TIRUPPUR:
The plight of children working in match and fire-works is
often times highlighted in the press
and has
invited the
intervention of the Supreme Court and Government of Tamil Nadu
for
certain
remedial
measures.
But
there
are
also
other
occupations where the employment of children has been increasing
which has never been brought to light.
A case in point is the
hosiery industry in Tiruppur.
Tiruppur, is a municipal town, situated 55kms. away (North easternly direction)
from
the
Textile
City
of
Coimbatore.
Tiruppur, the hosiery twon, is fast becoming the nerve centre of
According to official sources, there
cotton knit-wear products.
are over 2,500 production units in Tiruppur including knitting,
There are over 600 processing units
stitching and embroidering.
for bleaching and dyeing and there are 300 printing units.
is only an oficial information.
This
My hunch is that the number of|
units must be double the official estimate.
Besides these main
units, there are hundreds of ancillary units like lable making
khaja-button making, packing materials making etc., which support
the main units.
It is estimated that there are over 2 lakhs
skilled and semi-skilled workers.
4
Several thousand children (between the age of 5 - 14)
reported to be employed
industry.
in various
of
operations
the
are
hosiery
A rough estimate shows that around 25,000 children are
employed in the knit-wear industry of Tiruppur.
hosiery town in Coimbatore
the
Tirupur,
district of Tamilnadu is an important
centre dealing with cotton and cotton products for a very long
time.
Today Tiruppur
cotton
kint-wear
remains as one of the principal centre of
in the
industry
country.
Approximately,
it
accounts for about 35% of the domestic production in the country.
The other two major centres are located in Calcutta and Delhi
account
for
30
and
10
The
percent respectively.
rest
is
contributed by the secondary centres distributed throughout the
country.
Since 1980s,
this
industry witnessed a production boom.
From a producer producing solely for the domestic market,
the
knit-wear industry of Tiruppur became one of the largest exporter
of hosiery products and a net foreign exchange earner.
Tiruppur
knit-wear exporters who started out with Rs.18.60 crores worth of
direct exports in 1985, reached Rs.400 crores in 1989 and very
recently it touched around Rs.1,200
In
1993-94
this
industry fetched Rs.2,200 crores in foreign exchange.
The
crores.
ultimate target is "BILLION DOLLAR EXPORTS"
5
Tiruppur can boost of such things.
But at what and whose
cost?
It must be
noted
here
that the
current
fashion
boom
in
western Europe and North America for all kinds of cotton knitted
contributed
clothes
significantly
to
Moreover,
this.
the
domestic market for the hosiery products expanded considerably.
This development was made possible by the structural adjustment
policy adopted by the government
since
the
80s,
during which
period we see the proliferation of hosiery units in every noo]^|
and corner of the Tiruppur town as also the
surrounding areas.
While on the one hand the expansion of the knitwear industry
of Tiruppur has resulted in the creation of more employment, on
the other hand,
the labour force participation in the industry
has undergone a substantial change.
almost
all
numbers.
production process
This
It is quite evident that in
children
are
is maily as a result
of
employed
the
in
change
large
in
the
organisation of production in these units that now most of the^
production is done on job work basis.
Job work refers to an interactive relationship between and
also within firms.
It is also used to describe the divisions of
labour which exist within firms.
all,
Above
system also
this
fragmentation
allows
of
the
production structure - both spatially and organisationally.
However, from workers perspective this perpetuates the existence
of numerous small units of production and allows owners to flout
or
ignore questions related to conditions
In
laws.
other words,
this
kind of
of
work
job working
labour
and
enabled
many
owners to employ children between the ages of 5-14 in operations
which involve only a small period of training for acquiring the
skill.
Largely,
the children are
drawn
from the
neighbouring
villages which are located along the roads that connect them with
Tiruppur town. Children from interior villages are also employed
in Tiruppur units who either walk or use
cycle to reach
nearest bus route form where they reach Tiruppur.
the
Thus, we see
children coming to the banian companies from 30 kilometers radius
of
Tiruppur
town.
We
see
do
working
children
from
far
districts like Tiruchi, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Ramnad.
off
They
are mostly settled in the newly emerging slums of Tiruppur town.
Thus
children
form
an
important
labour
segment
in
the
production process of Hosiery Industry and this state is likely
to intensify and draw more and more children into the workforce
depriving children of their childhood and future development.
7
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS OF THE STUDY UNDERTAKEN AT TIRUPPUR AREA BY
OUR ORGANISATION :
Totally
survey.
18424
households
are
covered
household
under the
(4533 in Avinashi block, 9555 in Tiruppur block and 4336
Total population covered under the
in Tiruppur Municipality).
survey is 73278 (52% males and 48% females).
Children constitute
32% of this population (children below 15 years of age).
Population covered (as per 1991 census) under the household
survey is 15% in Avinashi Block, 27% in Tiruppur block and it is
8% in Tiruppur Municipality.
Of the 4533 households covered in Avinashi block households
with child workers constitute 17% and it is 21% in Tiruppur block
and 26% in Tiruppur Municipality.
This reveals that households
with child workers are more concentrated in Tiruppur slums
every fourth household sends its children for work.
where
Next cc^s
Tiruppur block with every fifth household sending its children
for work.
Villages in Tiruppur block are close to Tiruppur town.
Backward
caste
households
accounts
for
the
highest
proportion in the three areas surveyed and among these households
19% of the households have working children.
the most backward
It is highest among
castes with 27% of households with working
8
children.
Proportion of households with working children among
SC & ST communities is 25%
WORKFORCE:
Total workers (37427) constitute 51% of the total population
covered.
Of this male adults account for 63%, female adults 23%
and children constitute 14% (7% males and 7% females).
While the state average in terms of child workforce to total
workforce is only about 5%, it is much higher in the hosiery belt
than the state average.
This
children in hosiery industry.
indicates higher employment of
This is clear from the figures
available on the number of children employed in Hosiery units.
HOSIERY WORKERS:
In the three areas covered there are 11243 workers involved
in knitwear industry.
workers.
This accounts for about 31% of the total
Thus it shows that next to agriculture hosiery industry
is the main occupation for about one third of the population.
Of
the total hosiery workers there are 4554 children below the age
of 15 Accounting for 41% of the total work force in the industry.
9
Given that the door to door survey represents the overall
trend, it reveals that about 40% of the workers supplied to the
industry from these areas are Children below the age of 15.
Of the total workers in Hosiery male adults account for 55%,
female adults 4%„ male children 20% and female children 21%.
In the three areas surveyed Tiruppur Municipality accounts
for highest proportion of child workers with 62% of the total
workers involved in Hosiery work. It is 36% in Tiruppur block and
32% in Avinashi block.
Unlike in the match and Fireworks and beedi industry, here
both boys and girls are working in egual numbers.
not much difference
in the
operations
carried
There is also
out
by male
children and female children and also in terms of wages.
Of the children involved in hosiery industry 22% of them ari
in the age group of 6-11 and the remaining in 12-14 years.
Among the population surveyed there are 15441 children in
the age gorup of 6-14 years and of these 35% of the children are
already in the workforce.
10
WORKING CONDITIONS AND WAGES:
Unlike Sivakasi,
where children work
in the
factories
as
well as in the home, in Tiruppur the children will have to work
It is a
alongside adults in factories for long hours of work.
normal
scene to see the buses
packed with thousands of young
children with the tiffin carrier in their hand going to their
work
spot
evening.
in
the
early hours
of
the
Again inside the factory,
day
as
as
well
in
the
they have to work like a
machine since wages are paid on piece-rate for the adults.
Since
the children are helpers to the adults they have to cope with the
speed of the adults
daily wages.
eventhough they
(children)
are
paid only
They are also wooed by overtime incentives.
most of the children work for 12-16 hours per day.
So,
Comparatively
the wages paid to adults as well as to the child labour is better
than Sivakasi.
per day.
A child labourer in Tiruppur starts with Rs.10/-
The wages slowly increases as she/he grows physically
and getting experience in a company.
helpers to the adults.
upon
(i)
rapport
Mostly these children are
Learning of a particular skill depends
Style of functioning of a company
built between the
adult worker and
(iii) physical growth of a child.
(ii)
the
the kind of
child- worker.
A boy or girl from this area
is better appreciated for his/her earning
capacities than
his/her performance in class rooms. There is a general tendencies
among the parents that let our children find their own way of
11
living than thinking of sending them to a school or continuing
School children who go for work during the
their education.
(especially during summer holidays)
school vocation
back to school again.
never come
They are sucked into the industry.
things have led to decrease in enrolment in schools and
These
increase
in school drop-o,ut rates, recently.
HEALTH HAZARDOUS:
Eventhough there is no scientific study on these, it is told
that 10 to 15 new cases of T.B.
Govt.
Hospital in a day.
Thanthi newspaper
is being admitted at Tiruppur
There was a shocking news in Daily
dt.24.6.94.
Dr.
Karuppannan, the Chief Eye
Specialist in Tiruppur Govt. Hospital has revealed the fact that
80%
of hosiery workers are having
affected.
industry,
units.
eye
related diseases
in
He specifically mentions that child workers are also
Tiruppur.
While
it
is the cotton dust inside the hosiery
it is the chemical dust in the dyeing and bleachinj
The Doctor warns that until and unless the workers go for
treatment on time, they will become blind over a period of time.
A river is usually the lifeline of any area through which it
passes.
But this is not the case with Noyyal, a tributory of the
Cauvery which
passes
through
Tiruppur.
this
river.
It
only
through
not
neighbouring areas in Periyar district.
12
Toxic
affects
effluents
flow
but
also
Tiruppur
This
diseases.
leads
to widespread
skin
ailments
and
pulnological
The main reasons are the chemicals used in processing
the cotton - i.e. Sodium hydroxide,
Sodium hypochloride, Sodium
Sulphide, Hydrochloric acid and a number of dyes based on a toxic
benzidine structure.
Our present study undertaken by us will bring in lot of
information in this regard.
Tiruppur town
has
become
congested,
dirty
and
The
dust.
entire area is being polluted because of the dyeing and bleaching
factories in and around Tiruppur.
The damage is such that if you
dig a well or put up a bore-well,
water.
you will get only coloured
The social life is also polluted in the sense that more
and more people are getting into habit of drinking and using all
other kinds of indoxicating things.
ENFORCEMENT OF LAW:
The Consititution of India is the basic
law.
It is
supposed to be violated by
the
Government,
parliament;
Assemblies,
or
citizens.
Act.24
administration
of
not
State
the
Constitution gives a fundamental right that 'no child below the
age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or
mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment'.
13
There is another view viz that all employment of children
below fourteen is hazardous since it interferes with their
education
and
denies
their
opportunities
for
growth.
healthy
Legal support for this argument is derived from the directive
principles of the Constitution
(which are fundamentals
in the
governance of the country) especially Article 45 which guarantee
for free and Compulsory education till 14 years.
At the world Summit for Children on 30th September 1990 the
world leaders declared that 'we have gathered at the World Summit
for children to undertake
a
joint commitment
and to make
an
urgent universal appeal - to give every child a better future.
The children of the world are innocent, vulnerable and dependent.
They also curious active and full of hope.
Their time should be
one of joy and peace, of playing, learning and growing.
future should be shaped
should mature,
Their
in harmony and co-operation. Their lives
as they broaden their perspectives and gain new
fl
experiences.
But the enforcement of these principles, visions and hopes
have faded away.
As anywhere in India enforcement of factory and
labour related laws are
flouted around in Tiruppur,
too.
My
informal talk with the Inspector of Factories reveals that if he
books
any case against anyone he will be punished as any
Government employee
honest
is being punished.Atleast in Sivakasi, some
14
Even that is not being
noise is being made about child labour.
done in Tiruppur, till date.
Child labour is not at all seen as
a problem either by the parents or teachers or trade unionists'
or the general public or by the enforcing authorities.
become an accepted norm and become part of life.
It has
No one bothers
about it.
STATUS OF PRIMARY EDUCATION:
A quick
reveal
analysis
of data
collected
that most of the schools
facililties in terms of building,
adequate
teaching and learning equipments and so on.
primary
schools
infrastructural
learning space,
Our sample survey of
labour
incidence areas
drop-out at the primary level is as high as 50%.
In most of the
schools
reveal that in
from
lack adequate
the
high
child
schools teacher-student ratio is also very unfavourable.
ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS:
In Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore District is the place where Trade
Unions are active in Textile and other allied industries.-
is the case in Tiruppur too.
AITUC,
INTUC,
Same
Leading Trade Unions are CITU,
Hindu Mazoor Sabha and all other State level
political parties Trade Unions.
The unions are powerful and they
have their own voice and strength.
15
They are in a position to
dictate and decide on things with the management.
The situation
is such that the hosiery manufacturers have to take into account
the possible Trade Union's strike (reaction) whenever they go for
an agreement with the
importers
while taking bulk orders.
But,
it is unfortunate and sad that the child labour issue hasn't come
They are
till date.
under the purview of Trade Unions,
just
blind to this issue. Having got so much of power, if Trade Unions
are able to take up this issue of child labour in Tiruppur, they
will be able to succeed in solving some of the problems of child)
labour.
STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO ERADICATE CHILD LABOUR
1.
Since
Child
Labour has
should be made to
Labour and
become
the need to
child labourers,
bureaucrats,
accepted
an
create awareness
protect
employers,
efforts
evils
of
childhood
among
parents,
teachers,
administrators,
norm,
about
child
trade unionists,
legislators,
lawyers,
enforcement authorities, media persons and general public.
2.
Compulsory,
free,
quality primary education
strictly implemented.
should be
Learning should be made interesting
and the infrastructure facilities of the schools should be
developed.
More
fund
alloca'tion
strengthening the primary education.
16
should
be
made
for
3.
Child
Labour
should
replaced
be
adult
by
labour.
Implementation of Minimum Wages Act is very essential.
Adult wages should be raised to a reasonable level.
4.
More and more employment opportunities should be generated
Employment Guarantee Scheme
for adults.
(EGS)
should be
implemented,throughout the country.
5.
Special
financial assistance and Government schemes should
be made
available
families
for
with
working
to
children
increase the family income level.
6.
ENFORCEMENT
OF
LAW:
Labour
related
laws
such
as
child
labour (prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, Factories Act,
1948 and Minimum Wages Act 1986 should be strictly adhered
to
i.
ii.
Enforcement Authorities should be given more power
Labour Department should be stregthened with more
manpower.
iii.
Amendments have to be made in the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 in order to
make it more effective.
a.
Some of the suggestions
All employment of children below fourteen
years should be declared hazardous since it
interferes
denies
with children's
their
growth.
17
opportunities
education
for
and
healthy
b.
Onus proof of date of birth/age should be on
the employer.
Act,
As in the case of Factories
should
it
employers
be
have
to
maintain registers,
made
for
all
certificate
and
mandatory
birth
a
the need for a medical
authority to certify should be
dispensed
with.
c.
Regulation of employment of young persons
d.
'Joint
between 15-18 years of age should be made.
Forces'
Task
consisting
at
eminent
of
district
level
citizens,
social
workers and concerned officials of the Labour
Department should be formed.
e.
Setting up of 'flying squards' consisting of
factory-inpectors ,
officials
departments and members
powers
to
collect
other
of
of the public with
and
spot
fines
and
Non-governmental
impose
punishments.
f.
Trade
4
Unions
organisations
should be
empowered
to
carry
out inspections and call for records. •
7.
N.G.Os
should
be
invited
to
participate
in
programmes and decision-making at the district,
National levels.
18
policy,
state and
8.
Government should come forward to give more concessions and
loan facilities to the units run without Child Labour.
If
there is a need these units should be supported with subsidy
facilities etc..
9.
Institutions
should
more
even
for
countries,
(Apparel
like AEPC
promote
and
more
smaller
Export Promotion Council)
direct
orders
This
units.
from
will
foreign
stop
the
contract system and the profit level will go up which will
enable the unit owners to employ adults.
This does n't suit
to the greedy employers.
10.
All political
parties
should take
up the
issue
of
Child
Labour in their agenda and work towards eradication of child
labour.
11.
People should vote for parties which promise to take up the
issue of child labour and eradicate it.
12.
The media of this country should give utmost importance for
the issue of child labour to protect the childhood and put
an end to the shrinkage of human resources.
19
Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told a
scientists
and
educators
in
New
Delhi
a
little
gathering of
while
before
death.
"Some people seem to think education is not so important as
putting up a factory.
I may sacrifice any number of factories,
but I will not sacrifice human beings and their education because
it is the human who sets up factories and produces the things we
want".
"CHILD RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS"
SAY NO TO CHILD LABOUR
IMPLEMENT FREE, QUALITATIVE COMPULSORY
PRIMARY EDUCATION
SAVE AND PROTECT CHILDHOOD
JOIN HANDS TO ERADICATE CHILD LABOUR.
C. NAMBI
DIRECTOR
CENTRE FOR SOCIAL EDUCATION
AND DEVELOPMENT (CSED)
38, NARASA STREET
AVINASHI 641 654
COIMBATORE DISTRICT
TAMIL NADU S. INDIA.
20
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VeaceQuest Karnataka Foundation
WORKSHOP ON
HUMAN RIGHTS
TOPICS
DOWRY SYSTEM
LITERACY
CHILD LABOUR
Saturday 3rd December 1994
THE MYTHIC SOCIETY HALL
NRUPATHUNGA RD. BANGALORE - 560002
PROGRAMME : Saturday 3rd December '94
8.50 am
Registration of Participants
9.30 am
Invocation by Ujjval Vidyalaya Students
9.35 am
Welcome address
by the President of Peacegwest Karnataka
Ms. Hemalata Mahishi
9.40 am
Keynote address by Justice H.G. Balakrishna
(Retd. Judge, Karnataka High Court)
10.15 am
TEA BREAK
10.30 am
Dowry System
Speaker: Ms. Donna Fernandes from
VIMOCHANA
10.50 am
A real life experience
11.00 am
Literacy
Speaker : Dr. A.S. Seetharamu from
I.S.E.C.
11.30 am
Child Labour
Speaker: Ms. Caroline Wesley from (CWC)
CONCERNED FOR WORKING CHILDREN
11.50 am
A real life experience
12 noon
Slide Show on Child Labour by
Dr Vasundhra
A
•
*****************************************
12.15- 1.15 pm
LUNCH BREAK
*****************************************
1.15 pm
1.30 pm
Skit on Child Labour by M.E.S. Teachers College
Quest Club representatives
GROUP DISCUSSION
Separate Group Discussion on
the three different topics.
TEA BREAK
2.30 pm
2.45 pm
Presentation of Group discussion :
Dowry, Child Labour and Literacy
3.45 pm
Vote of Thanks.
SPONSORS
The Management of PeaceQuest Karnataka Foundation thanks the
following for their very generous contributions made towards sponsoring
this Workshop
Mr. D.K Chowta, Managing Director of PC Exports Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Rajesh Jain.
M/s Professional Communications.
Mr. R.N. Mani of Dot-Line Process.
Addresses :
PeaceQwest/Karnataka, 102, Royal Residency, Block II, No.8 Brunton Rd.,
Bangalore - 560025. Ph. 5582127 Fax : 5582772
PeaceQwwt/Sweden, Lundagatan 56, 117 27 Stockholm,
^+46 8 6697520, Fax+46 8 849 016
PeaceQuest International
The Global Quest Club project aims to empower students and
educators to work for a healthy and peaceful future. By promoting the youth to
Act Locally and Think Globally, it gives an opportunity to change one's
surroundings in a global context. Quest Clubs seek to cooperate actively with
partner Clubs in different countries giving their grassroots initiative a truly
international character.
The Head office was set up in Stockholm (Sweden) in 1983 and as the
Movement grew, offices were set up in Washington DC(USA), Riga (Latvia),
Bangalore (India) and in the near future an office will be set up in Lusaka
(Zambia)
The first PeaceQt/est Tbur was conducted in 1988 with participants
from Sweden, Russia and the United States. The Tour visited the decision
makers in all the three countries with the message of peace and cooperation in
the ongoing Cold War.
Peace(7»esf Karnataka
In May 1994 Mr Valentin Seveus one of the founders of Peace(2«es/
(established in Sweden in 1983) came to Bangalore to set up the first Peacegiiest
office in India. Thus the Peaceguesr Karnataka Trust was formed. Mrs Hemalata
Mahishi, a leading advocate, is its Founder President.
The Quest Movement in Karnataka has focussed on six colleges. These
are: Acharya Women's 1st Grade College (Gauribidanur), Al-Ameen College,
M.E.S. Teacher's College, St Joseph's College of Commerce. Ujjval Vidhyalaya
(Whitefield) and Vidya Vardhaka Sangha. Various activities such as debates,
quiz, skits, discussions, surveys and poster campaigns have been conducted by
these Clubs.
The progress of the movement will be evaluated regularly and further
expansion will then be planned.
The organisation has a newsletter called Shanthi Quest, the first
edition of which was published in November 1994.
Campaign
Against Child Labour
Central Secretariat, C/o RLHP, Udayagiri P.O, Mysore ■ 570 019.
Karnataka
* Join the Campaign
Against Child Labour
Central Secretariat, C/o RLHP, Udayagiri P.O, Mysore ■ 570 019.
——j—nrd^r.nrBW-t,JI
■ •• .
A booklet on child labour and CACL prepared by Central Secretariat.
Publication: January 2003
Published By.
Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL),
Central Secretariat,
C/o RLHP, No.5, Gayathripuram,
Udayagiri P.O, Mysore - 570 019.
Karnataka
Phone:0821-452094
email: caclcs@sanchamet.in
Website: www.caclindia.org
Child labour - the national scenario
Child labour is an existing and growing phenomenon.
You will find a child working near you, wherever you are.
You may cite several reasons for their economic
exploitation and abuse. But the fact remains that the
rights of the child are violated every moment. Children
are not only tomorrow's citizens; they are today's citizens
too! Child labour cannot be justified in any manner as it
is a crime committed against a.child. Child labour includes
children prematurely leading adult lives, working with o,r
without wages, under conditions damaging to their
physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual
development, denying them their basic rights to
education, health and development. Any child out of
school is a potential child labourer.
India has got the dubious distinction of employing the
largest number of children in the world. According to the
NSS survey (NSSO 55th Round) results there are around
10.23 million child labourers in India. CACL does not
consider this figure to be accurate due to definitional
problems like the exclusion of children's work in the age
group below five and between fifteen and eighteen. Again,
children engaged in household activities are not
adequately enumerated. Multiplicity of definitions, no
uniformity of age of child, different sources of data and
exclusion of several sectors like domestic work and
agriculture amount to the reduced number of child
labourers rather than the actual number.
About 77.2% of the 402 million workers in India are in
rural areas and more than 73% engage in agriculture
and related activities. It is an established fact that the
structure of production is indeed a good indicator of child
labour; the greater the weight of traditional agriculture in
the economy, the higher the incidence of child labour.
This structural characteristic is overwhelmingly true for
child workers because in the organized manufacturing
enterprises child labour does not exist.
The context is observed in agriculture and related
activities, household work, construction, beedi making,
mining and quarrying, brick kilns etc. This constitutes
the largest chunk.
India promulgated the Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Act in 1986. Despite strong interventions by
the Supreme Court, convictions have taken place only
in a very few cases based on violations of the provisions
of the Act. CACL considers the provisions of the Act
inadequate because it makes an artificial distinction
between hazardous and non-hazardous sectors and
legally permits child labour in so called non-hazardous
sectors.
India is a signatory to the CRC and the laws should be
framed keeping in mind the best interests of the child. A
child is defined as anyone below the. age of 18 years in
the CRC. From field experiences, CACL has come to
the conclusion that all children have the right to equal
education in regular schools. Non - formal education or
alternative schools suffer from poor quality, discrimination
in the provision of opportunities, and reinforce prejudices
and value judgements. When practiced by the State,
non-formal and alternative schools become easy ways
to escape responsibilities. Budget allocation is a
measure of any government's commitment to education.
Government of India allocates only 3% of its budget to
education and .3% to primary education.
Child labour is denial of childhood. It is denial of child
rights too! Children are eligible for the right to protection,
right to survival, right to development, right to participation
as the United Nations guarantees in its convention on
the rights of child in 1989. These little ones undergo the
worst conditions during their working life. It is applied to
almost all the sectors. They are found in large numbers
in sectors like diamond cutting, gem polishing,
powerloom, carpet weaving, lock making, brassware,
match and fireworks, glass, sericulture, garments, silk
weaving, zari, handlooms and handicrafts, cotton, hosiery,
hotels, garages, slate, slate pencil, beedi, circus, rope
making, construction etc. Some of the pernicious
characteristics of toiling children are: opportunity for the
formal education is completely negated; Children as
young as six years work; Employers/agents often pay
an advance to the parents of these children which is
adjusted against their nominal wages or not paid at.all.
Often their conditions are that of bonded labour and even
technically they are covered by the definition of Bonded
Labour under Section 2(g) of the Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act, 1976; Large number of children are known
to be trafficked; They are forced to work for low wages or
no wages; The hours of work are never regulated as a
result of which these children have to start work as early
as 5.00 in the. morning and continue to work beyond
11.00 at night; They hardly get rest hours and holidays;
They hardly get time and opportunity for recreation and
play; Children are under the control of the employer. All
through the 24 hours, everyday of their working life, they
are at the employers' beck and call; These children are
forced to live with extremely deplorable and congested
inhuman conditions with no basic amenities like toilet,
drinking water and sleeping facilities and no provision for
adequate food and health care; The lack of hygiene at
the work place (which is same as living place) results in
multiple health hazards to the children; They are targets
of torture and objects of extreme physical violence; These
children are subjected to sexual molestation,
harassment and rape; The girl children are more
vulnerable to such abuses.
T
The health risks for child labourers are chronic bronchitis,
tuberculosis, asthma, eye defects, burns, stunted growth,
spinal problems, accidents, silicosis, infectious
diseases, skin diseases, dermatitis, sexually transmitted
diseases etc. Many deaths (murders!) of child labourers
have been reported in several parts of the country for
menial causes. But punishment of the employers is a
rare phenomenon. The range of employers includes
doctors, engineers, teachers, professors, lawyers, highranking officials, police officials and politicians! The
children are employed in their houses to do the domestic
chores without having any specified working hours for a
nominal sum. During the working hours, the child does
undergo the torture, harassment and abuse by the
employer or the members of the family. Since domestic
sector does not come under the prohibition part of the
law, it is considered as child protection in public! But,
the government employees are prohibited from employing
children under the age of 14 as domestic workers as per
the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1967. Any violation
of this rule will attract penalty on the employees. Though
this is a ray of hope, it is hardly implemented and
monitored.
About Campaign Against Child Labour
Campaign Against Child Labour is a national network
launched in 1992, initially with a few organizations. It
grew over the years and presently consists of over 6000
anti -child labour groups spread over 16 states in India.
CACL has established state units in 13 states and the
networking process is in various stages in 4 other states.
Active women's groups, trade unions, academic
institutions, media agencies, child rights and human
rights organizations, research bodies, corporate houses,
student volunteers and eminent citizens constitute an
integral part of the campaign. The ultimate goal is to
broadbase the campaign to include various concerned
groups and individuals and make it a people's campaign.
’
)
CACL is against all manifestations of child labour, in any
occupation or processes of all sectors of work including
the formal, informal, organized, unorganized, with or
without wages, within or outside the family. CACL does
not accept the classification of hazardous and non
hazardous sectors in the CLPRA 1986, as all forms of
labour are hazardous and detrimental to their
development.
CACL aims to bring together groups, individuals and
organizations to work collectively towards eradication of
child labour and restoration of child rights.lnitially, the
focus of CACL was solely on the eradication of child
labour. But over the years the scope of CACL activities
has broadened to address the issue of child rights and
human rights.
Aims & Objectives of CACL
• CACL aims at immediate and total eradication of child
labour and ensuring fundamental right to education for
all children up to 18 years.
• Create mass awareness and mobilize public opinion
against child labour.
• Pressurise the Government to evolve a comprehensive
policy for eradication of child labour.
• Ensure that the Government introduces and passes
legislations in the spirit of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
0
• Reviewing national policies and legislations on child
labour, ensuring strict implementation of existing child
labour laws
• Direct intervention in cases of violations of child rights
and abuse of child labourers, in the form of fact finding
•A
and
.
• Putting forth strategies and alternatives for rehabilitation
of working children.
Structure of CACL
CACL is a national network with a presence in over 16
states. The organizational hierarchy of CACL is loosely
structured to avoid bureaucratic impediments.
The Executive Committee consists of the Convenors of
the State Secretariat. The EC is responsible for carrying
on the programmes and policies of CACL. The EC meets
once in six months and reviews implementation of
programmes and policies
National Coordination Committee: The National
Coordination Committee (NCC) consists of the State
Convenor, State Coordinator and 4 active members of
State CACL. The NCC is the supreme authority to decide
the policies and programmes of CACL. The NCC meets
once in 9 months and decides on the policies and
programmes and devises an action plan for the current
year.
7
Central Secretariat: The coordination of national
programmes and activities is the responsibility of the
Central Secretariat. The Central Secretariat implements
the mandate given by the National Coordination
Committee. The Central Secretariat is hosted by a CACL
member organization and is shifted every three years.
Advocacy Unit: The Advocacy Unit is responsible for
advocacy and lobbying at the national level. The Advocacy
Unit is also shifted once in three years.
Advisory Board: CACL also has an advisory Board, which
consists of eminent persons from different walks of life
who offer advice from time to time on broader issues and
provide direction to the campaign.
State Secretariat: Each state has a core committee
which elects the State Convenor. A co-convenor can also
be elected. The state can have a separate advocacy
unit or it can be combined with the State secretariat.
The State Core Committee consists of the Convenors
from the District Secretariats of the State.
CACL activities and interventions
CACL has submitted recommendations and influenced
policy decisions of the Government.
II National Labour Commission: Recommendations on
the measures to eliminate child labour were formulated
and submitted to the II National Labour Commission at
the national level. State secretariats in some of the
states also submitted state recommendations.
Planning Commission : CACL conducted two
consultations - southern and northern on "Vulnerable
children - Approach paper to the Tenth Five Year Plan".
The consultations helped in evolving a set of
recommendations.to be included in the Tenth Five Year
Plan, which was submitted to the Planning Commission.
ILO : CACL, in partnership with trade unions intends to
participate and express its views on child labour in the
International Labour Conference. This will influence the
policies of the Government. A social audit on 15 years
of interventions on child labour was organized by CACL
and other Trade unions in November 2001 at New Delhi,
in this regard.
• At the state level, CACL state secretariats have
influenced state government policies. The Karnataka
Government launched the Action Plan for elimination of
child labour, the formulation of which was assisted by
CACL-K. Tamil Nadu submitted a Children's Manifesto
to all the electoral candidates during the assembly
elections, demanding their rights. CACL-Bihar also
submitted its recommendations to the National Labour
Commission. Children's Parliament was organized by
CACL-Orissa
• CACL organized a national consultation on the
proposed 93rd Amendment Bill, 2001 in which major
networks, NGOs and child rights groups from various
parts of the country took part. A common position and
an alternate Bill evolved, which will form the basis of our
advocacy efforts. CACL has mounted a strong campaign
to influence the MPs and ensure that the Bill is passed
with positive changes. Now, the Bill has received the
President's assent and CACL will take an active role in
monitoring the implementation and influencing legislations
by the States.
9
• CACL organized a national consultation on child labour
in hotel and domestic sectors and submitted
recommendations to the Ministry of Labour and Dept of
Women and Child Development to prohibit child labour
in both the sectors.
CACL has intervened directly in a number of individual
cases of child rights violations
• Sivamurugan was beaten to death at Vani, Maharashtra
in 1993. CACL fought this case and his employer paid a
compensation of Rs.1,00,000/- to his family.
• 4 children died in a fire in Arun Kumar Match factory in
Tamil Nadu. The employer was forced to pay a
compensation of Rs.50,000/- to each victim's family.
• Sumitra was made to work as a domestic help by the
Mrs. Vimlabhai Deshmukh, a former minister in the
Karnataka State Government. She was taken from
Sumangali Ashram in Bangalore on the assurance that
she would be adopted. CACL intervened and released
the girl.
• A small girl working in a Tirupur hosiery unit had her
scalp peeled off when her hair caught in an overlooking
machine. CACL helped in filing a case and the Court
ordered the employer to pay a compensation of over
Rs.2,00,000/- to the family.
Interventions in various sectors where child labour is
endemic include,
' U
• Public Interest Litigation was filed to release and
rehabilitate the children in cotton and sericulture industry
in Karnataka
• Campaign against fireworks to highlight the plight of
gfo)(g[l,
’W
children in the fireworks manufacturing industry in
Sivakasi.
• Campaign against the textile industry to expose the
employment of child labourers in Tirupur of Tamil Nadu.
Some of our interventions have evoked tremendous
response within the community and have proved
successful. See some Instances:
• CACL - Bihar campaigned actively against child labour
in Bihar and this led to the establishment of Child Labour
Commission. This is a joint initiative of CACL and the
Women and Child Welfare department.
•The Karnataka government launched an Action Plan
for elimination of child labour, which was formulated with
the assistance of CACL - Karnataka.
• Because of CACL's lobbying, many state government
schemes have been launched to prevent child labour.
• CACL is motivating the Government to remove the
distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous
sectors and ban employment of children in all sectors.
• CACL's advocacy has resulted in 25% reservation in
all Government hostels for released child labourers. This
facility was very essential in the rehabilitation of the
released child labourers.
• According to Supreme Court ruling in 1996 special
schools for child labourers was set up. A special task
force was formed to release the child labourers. After
CACL's intervention, the task force recommended that
the district officers be conferred the powers of a Labour
Inspector.
International treaties and Conventions
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)- 1989:
India signed for CRC in 1992 and became one among
the 192 signatory countries to CRC. CACL subscribes
to all the articles of CRC and considers it as a major
international initiative in order to protect the rights of
millions of marginalized children. CACL recognizes this
as one of the most important tools for lobbying and
advocacy with Government.
Although India ratified the CRC, the unfortunate fact is
that attempts have not been made by the government to
implement the provisions of it in the country. Seven
alternate country reports by different NGOs and networks
including CACL were submitted to the UN in 1997. Every
country that has ratified CRC has to submit the country
report once in five years. There is a provision for the
NGOs to submit their alternate reports to the UN. CACL
had submitted the first alternate report to the UN and is
planning to submit the second alternate report after the
India Country report is presented to the UN. CACL in its
campaign to eradicate child labour, popularizes the CRC
in its working areas. Whenever the documents or
recommendations are submitted to the Government, CRC
provisions are quoted to make it obligatory to the cause
of children.
12
n® -
SfQlOk
Conventions 138 and 182 of ILO
lnternational Labour Organisation, which is a tripartite
body consisting of governments, employers and trade
unions, has come up with major conventions in order to
eradicate child labour. India has till now ratified only six
conventions. Convention 138 which has made
recommendations on minimum wage and Convention 182
which is on worst forms of child labour have not yet been
ratified by India. CACL intends to intensely lobby and
pressurize the Government to sign these conventions
relating to child labour.
Nai Subah - National event on girl child labour
CACL is now putting effort to bring the national focus on
the plight of girl children by organizing a national event
on girl child labour named as "Nai Subah" on March 5-7,
2003 at Mysore, Karnataka. CACL had organized the
National convention of child labourers and Public hearing
earlier in 1994 at Chennai and in 1997 at Delhi. The Mysore
event will be the third in the series. 1200 girl child labourers
working in various sectors from 20 states will be
participating in this event. A national event focusing on
girl child labour is an attempt to provide a common
platform to share the experiences of persons involved
with these children at the grassroots level and also let
the children speak up for themselves. It is the constant
endeavour of CACL member organizations to eradicate
child labour and restore rights to every child in the country.
The issues of the girl child are critical and central to any
child rights restoration. Many issues and concerns like
infanticide, foeticide, declining sex ratio, health and
education for the girl child, gender disparities, etc. have
assumed alarming proportions. The plight of the girl child
labourer, especially in-hidden sectors like the domestic
sector, needs our immediate intervention. These events
helped in'creating awareness among the public and also
exerting pressure on the Government to form policies
and programmes to tackle the problem. The event
presently planned will help keep up the pressure on the
Government to immediately implement programmes for
the rehabilitation of girl child labourers.
Why don't you join us?
It is our collective responsibility to take care of the other
children as we care for our own children. Despite the
fact that there are 120 schemes and programmes
attached to 12 ministries and departments for the welfare
of the children in this country, it is impossible to point
out at least one successful venture. Though there are a
variety of laws at the national and international levels,
abuse and economic exploitation of children continue to
be a constant phenomenon. The nexus of bureaucrats
and employers conniving with the local politicians does
enough harm to the proper implementation of existing
laws on child protection. Our constitutional guarantees
remain in the dusty shelves of judiciary, never reach to
the toiling children.
Therefore campaigning against child labour is imperative r
both at the individual and organizational levels. It is to
be done at the local as well as the national level. It is a
struggle for regaining the rights of the child who has been
denied them for all these years. While campaigning
against child labour, we will have to address several other
issues related to children. Since child is an integral part
of the society, an integrated approach that encompasses
all the aspects needs to be adopted to remove the
children from labour and ensure their rights. The
Campaign Against Child Labour precisely does it in 16
states of the country and relentlessly works for a better
tomorrow for the working children. You can join this
campaign and strengthen it with your contributions in
terms of cash, kind, time and skills.
•
15
OURTOOLS
Laws:
0
O
0
Constitution of India
Supreme Court/ High Court Judgments
Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
O
Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2000
O
O
Shops & Establishments Act
Indian Penal Code (IPC) .
O
Criminal Procedure Code
0
All India Services (Conduct) Rules
O
The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act,1933
0
The Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act
Policies:
O
National Policy for children 1974
National Health Policy
O
O
National Policy on Education, 1986
National Policy on child labour (1987)
0
National Nutrition Policy
0
16
International bindings:
0
UN Declaration on the rights of the child, 1959
O
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
0
ILO Conventions
O
World Conference on education for all, 1990
0
UN Millennium Declaration, 2000
On the Anvil:
O
Policy charter on children
0
National Commission on children
O
Fundamental Right to Education
O
Law Commission recommendations
O
Domestic Workers Bill, 2001
SOME SCHEMES FOR CHILD PROTECTION
17
0 National Child Labour Project (NCLP)
0 International Programme on the Elimination of Child
Labour (IPEC)
0 Child Labour Cell
0 National Authority for Elimination of Child Labour, 1994
O Grants to voluntary Agencies
(Schemes of Ministry of Labour)
0 Central Adoption Resource Agency
O Scheme for assistance to Homes for infants and young
children for promoting in- country adoption.
0 Scheme of prevention and control of Juvenile Social
maladjustment
0 Integrated Programme for Street Children
O Services to children in need of care and protection
(Schemes of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment)
Education Schemes
Elementary & Secondary
0 DPEP-1994
0 Midday Meal Scheme August 15,1995
0 Operation Black Board 1987-88
(Expanded in 1993-94)
0 NFE-1979-80(25 states)
0 LokJumbish-Rajasthan 1991-92
(People's movement for Education for all)
0 Shiksha Karmi Project 1987 - Rajasthan
0 Mahila Samakhya -1989
0 National Bal Bhavan
0 Integrated Education for the Disabled 1974
0 Education Technology Program
0 Scheme on Education Concession for children of parents killed/ disabled
in armed conflict
0 Education concession for Tibetan Refugee children.
0 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan
HEALTH RISKS FOR
CHILD LABOURERS - General
Beedi Rolling
Glass Industry
Handloom & Carpet
Zari & Embroidery
Gem polishing &
diamond Cutting
Construction
Rag picking
Pottery
Stone & Slate
Sex work
Agriculture
18
Domestic work
: Chronic bronchitis, TB
: Asthma, bronchitis, TB,
eye defects, burns
: Asthma, bronchitis, TP,
spinal problems
: Eye defects
: Eye defects, injuries
: Accidents, stunted
growth
: Skin diseases, infectious
diseases, tetanus
: Asthma, chronic
bronchitis, TB
: Silicosis
: STD, AIDS
: Hazards related to farm
Machinery and
pesticides
: Stunted growth,
Dermatitis, Abuse
Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
PART A Occupations
Any Occupation connected with
(1)
Transport of passengers, goods or mails by railway;
(2)
Cinder picking, clearing of an ash pit or building
operation in the railway premises;
(3)
Work in a catering establishment at a railway station,
involving the movemnt of a vendor or any other employee
of the establishment from one platform to another or into
or out of a moving train;
(4)
Work relating to the construction of a railway station
or with any other work where such work is done in close
proximity to or between the railway lines;
(5)
A port authority within the limits of any port.
(6)
Work relating to selling of crackers, and fire works in
shops with temporary licences
(7)
Abattoirs / Slaughter Houses
(8)
Automobile workshops and garages;
(9)
Foundries;
(10)
Handling of toxic or inflammable substances or
explosives;
(11) Handloom and powerloom industry;
(12) Mines (underground and underwater) and collieries;
(13) Plastic units and fiberglass workshops.
W
I
PARTB Processes
(jM (1) Bidi-making
X
(2) Carpet weaving including preparatory and incidental
”
process thereof
20
(3) Cement Manufacture, including bagging of cement.
(4) Cloth printing, dyeing and weaving, including
processes preparatory and incidental thereto.
(5) Manufacture of matches, explosives and fire-works.
(6) Mica cutting and splitting
(7) Shellac Manufacture
(8) Soap manufacture
(9) Tanning
(10) Wool - cleaning
(11) Building and Construction industry, including
processing and polishing of granite stones;
(12) Manufacture of slate pencils (including packing)
(13) Manufacture of products from agate.
(14) Manufacturing processes using toxic metals and
substances such as lead, mercury, manganese,
chromium, cadmium, benzene, pesticides and asbestos.
(15) 'Hazardous processes' as defined in Section 2(cb)
and'dangerous operations' as notified in rules made
under Section 87 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948)
(16) Printing as defined in Section 2(k)(iv) of the Factories
Act, 1948 (63 of 1948)
(17) Cashew and cashewnut descaling and processing
(18) Soldering processes in electronic industries.
(19) Agarbatti manufacturing
(20) Automobile repairs and maintenance including
processes incidental thereto, namely welding, lathe work,
dent beating and painting.
(21) Brick kilns and Hoof tiles units
(22) Cotton ginning and processing and production of
hosiery goods.
(23) Detergent manufacturing.
(24) Fabrication workshops (ferrous and non-ferrous)
(25)
Gem cutting and polishing.
(26)
Handling of chromite and manganese ores.
(27)
Jute textile manufacture and coir making.
(28) Lime kilns and Manufacture of Lime
(29) Lock making.
(30)
Manufacturing processed having exposure to lead
such as primar and secondary smelting, welding and
cutting of lead-painted metal constructions, welding or
galvanized or zinc silicate, polyvinyl chloride, mixing (by
hand) of crystal glass mass, sanding or scrapping of led
paint, burning of lead in enamelling workshops, lead
mining, plumbing, cable making, wire patenting, lead
casting, type founding in printing shops. Store type
setting, assembling of cars, shot making and lead glass
blowing.
(31)
Manufacture of cement pipes, cement products and
other related work.
(32) Manufacturing of glass, glassware including bangles,
florescent tubes, bulbs and other similar glass products.
(33) Manufacturing of dyes and dye stuff.
(34) Manufacturing or handling of pesticides and
insecticides.
(35) Manufacturing or processing and handling of corrosive
and toxic substances, metal cleaning and photo
engraving and soldering processes in electronic industry.
(36) Manufacturing of burning coal and coal briquettes.
(37) Manufacturing of sports goods involving exposure
to synthetic’materials, chemicals and leather.
v
(38) Moulding and processing of fiberglass and plastic.
(39) Oil expelling and refinery.
(40 Paper making.
(41) Potteries and ceramic industry
(42)
Polishing, moulding, cutting, welding and
manufacture of brass goods in all forms.
(43)
Processes in agriculture where tractors, threshing
and harvesting machines are used and chaff cutting.
(44)
Saw mill - all processes
(45)
Sericulture processing
(46)
Skinning, dying and processes for manufacturing
leather and leather products.
(47)
Stone breaking and stone crushing
(48)
Tobacco processing including manufacturing of
tobacco, tobacco paste and handling of tobacco in any
form
(49)
Tyre making, repairing, retreading and graphite
benefication
(50)
Utensils making, polishing and metal buffing
(51)
Zari making (all processes)
(52)
Electroplating
(53)
Graphite powdering and incidental processing
(54)
Grinding or glazing of metals
(55)
Diamond cutting and polishing
(56)
Extraction of slate from mines
(57)
Rag picking and scavenging
□
22
CACL State Contacts
New Delhi
Bihar
Mr.J.John
Convenor, CACL Advocacy Unit
Mr.Arun Das
Convenor, CACL-Bihar
Communication (CEC)
Bal Mazdoori Virodhi Abhiyan
C/o Vishwanath Yadav
4) C/o Centre for Education &
NO.173A, Khirki Village,
Malviya Nagar, New Delhi -17
Tel: 011 26686841
Fax: 01126286842
cec@nda.vsnl.net.in
Orissa
Mr.Ranjan Mohanty
CACL-Orissa C/o PECUC,
VII-H/26,SailashreeVihar
Bhubhaneshwar - 751021
Tel: 0674 2440432
Fax: 0674 2441845
pecuc@ hotmail.com
Gujarat
'Mr.Falgun Sheth
Convenor, CACL- Gujarat
C/o Shaishav, A-2/T-34,
Adinath Apartment,
Opp.Virbhadra Akhada,
Ambavadi, Bhavnagar - 364 001
Tel: 0278-2428560
Fax:0278-2422908
shaishav@ad1 .vsnl.net.in
Near Panch Mandir Road,
No.10,AlkapuriPost,
Patna-800 002
06122257176/2259035
caclbihar@sify.com
Kerala
Mr.BabyPaul
Convenor, CACL-Kerala,
Mandad Post,
Kalpetta North-673122
Tel: 0493603574
jvala@rediffmail.com
Karnataka
Mr.Lakshapathi
Convenor, CACL-Kamataka
C/oAPSA,
Nammane, No.34,
Annasandra Palya,
Vimanapura
Bangalore-560 017.
Ph: 080 5232749/5231719
apsa@bgl.vsnl.net.in
Maharashtra
Mr.HemantBhamre
Convenor, CACL -Maharashtra
C/o Lokvikas Samjik Sanstha,
B-1, Sai Aashish Apartment,
D'Souza Colony,
Nashik - 422 005
Tel: 0253518419
lokvikas® hotmail.com
Andhra Pradesh
Mr.Shiva Reddy
Convenor, CACL -Andhra Pradesh
C/o CHRD, 2/287, Balajinagar,
Cuddapah-516003
Ph:08562 46026
Mobile: 9849161091
centhrd @ rediffmail.com
Goa
Shanti Maria Fonseca
Convenor, CACL-Goa
C/o Child Rights Cell-AITUC
2nd Floor, Velhos Building,Panaji.
Ph: 0832431133/438263
Jharkhand
Mr.Vinod Kumar
Convenor, CACL-Jharkhand
Sampuma Gram Vikas Kendra,
Redma Panki Road,
Daltongang, Dist. Palamu - 822101
Tel: 06562 24275 Fax: 06562 22210
Mobile: 9431077871
sgvkdtj @ rediffmail.com
West Bengal
Mr.PrabirBasu
Convenor, CACL -West Bengal
C/o SPAN
(Society for People's Awareness},
87/11, A.K.Mukherjee Road,
Kolkata-700 090
Tel: 033 5319856/531 6484
Mobile: 98300 37818
span® cal.vsnl.net.in
Tamil Nadu
Mrs.Radha
Convenor, CACL-Tamil Nadu,
C/o LEAD-League for Education &
Development, No.40,
I Street, RayarThoppu,
Srirampuram, Srirangam,
Tiruchirapalli-620 004
Ph: 0431 432803/432521
radhajead @ hotmail.com
Rajasthan
Dr.VirendraVidrohi
Convenor, CACL-Rajasthan
Matsya Mewat Shiksha Evam
Vikas Sansthan(MMSVS),
2/519, Aravali Vihar,
Alwar-301001
Ph: 0144 2701548
Fax: 0144 2345225
Email: mmsvs@rediffmail.com
Centfa.l Secretar.iat:
C/o RLHP, No.5, Gayathripuram,
Udayagiri EO, Mysore - 570 019.
Karnataka
Phone: 0821-452094
email: caclcs@sancharnet.in
Website: www.caclindia.org
Advocacy Unit:
C/o Centre for Communication and Education (CEC)
No.173A, Khirki Village,
Malviya Nagar, New Delhi -17
Tel: 011 26686841
Fax : 011 26286842
WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK, 1-7 August, offers an
opportunity for people worldwide to join together in celebration
and action in support of breastfeeding. In 1992, the World Alli
ance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) launched the first World
Breastfeeding Week (WBW) on the theme of the Baby-Friendly
Hospital Initiative. Over 70 countries recognised the importance
of breastfeeding, and many have established baby-friendly hospi
tals.
This year World Breastfeeding Week focuses on enabling
working women to breastfeed. According to the Innocenti
Declaration, optimal breastfeeding means that ‘all women should
be enabled to practise exclusive breastfeeding and all infants
should be fed exclusively on breastmilk from birth to four to six
months ofage. Thereafter, children should continue to be breastfed,
while receiving appropriate and adequate complementary foods,
for up to two years of age or beyond.'
Every mother is a working woman. It is a particular chal
lenge to assist working women to practise optimal breastfeeding.
The goals of WBW 1993 are to:
• Enable women to breastfeed with confidence by informing
them of the benefits of optimal breastfeeding and of their
maternity entitlements;
• Ensure that national legislation to protect the rights of working
women to breastfeed is implemented in as many countries as
possible;
♦ Increase public awareness of the benefits of combining work
and breastfeeding to women, children, and society at large;
• Encourage unions and workers groups to advocate for mater
nity entitlements which support women workers who
breastfeed;
• Foster the establishment of Mother-Friendly Workplaces
everywhere; and
• Protect cultural practices which support the breastfeeding
mother working at or away from home.
Make these your goals! Breastfeeding
thrives in family-friendly cultures!
To make the changes necessary
for long-term social transfor
mation, we need a new way
of thinking about work and
families. In many societies,
work is seen from a male
perspective and valued only
if it produces a cash income.
When much of women's work is
home-based or for subsistence, it is
under-reported, under-valued and under
paid. However, when women also work for a cash income, their
work seldom accommodates unpaid reproductive work, including
pregnancy, breastfeeding and child-care. Most working women
who want to breastfeed give up the ideal of optimal breastfeeding,
and resort to partial, mixed, or token breastfeeding.
Can we create a woman-centred approach to work that values
women's productive and reproductive work, and reduces the double
burdens women carry? Such an approach would acknowledge
pregnancy, breastfeeding and child-care as socially meaningful and
productive work, and recognise the social support necessary for
optimal breastfeeding. Men share the responsibility for providing
this support in the home and the workplace.
With maternity leave, affordable child-care and access to
infants during working hours, women can successfully integrate
productive and reproductive work. Children, women, families and
employers all benefit from this health promoting, inexpensive,
nurturing approach to child-care.
Tips
Tips for
successfully
combining
work and
breastfeeding
• Take as much leave as possible after birth.
• Take extra food and drink to maintain your health.
Your diet should be well-balanced and include
lots of locally available fruits, vegetables, carbo
hydrates, and fluids.
• Make sure breastfeeding is well established before
returning to work.
If you are away from your baby for several hours,
express breastmilk several times a day, and have
your infant care giver feed it to the baby with a
cup. The use of bottles or pacifiers discourages
babies from breastfeeding.
Make sure the person who cares for your baby
understands and supports breastfeeding.
Practise expressing breastmilk before returning to
work. Expressing breastmilk by hand is easy with
practice and convenient for most women. Ex
pressed breastmilk keeps well at room tempera
ture for 10 or more hours even in tropical coun
tries. Cooling liquids makes longer storage pos
sible.
Have family members and friends provide extra
help while you are breastfeeding.
Breastfeed in a comfortable chair or while lying
down so that you can rest at the same time.
If you are separated from your baby for long hours
during the day, breastfeed more at night. It will be
easier if your baby sleeps with you.
If you have flexible work hours, going an hour late,
extending your lunch break, or leaving an hour
early can be helpful.
Form a support group with other working women
who breastfeed, or attend a mother support group
in your community.
Consider co-operative strategies such as sharing
child-care.
Delay your next pregnancy until you are ready to
breastfeed another child.
Why women should
breastfeed when
they return to paid work
Benefits for babies
• Breastfeeding meets a baby’s
nutritional and emotional needs
for the first four to six months,
and continues to contribute to
the baby’s nutritional and
emotional health into the sec
ond year and beyond.
• Breastfed babies have stronger
immune systems and are health
ier than those who receive
breastmilk substitutes.
• Studies show that breastfeed
ing can save the lives of over
one million babies who die every
year from diarrhoea and acute
respiratory infections.
Benefits for women
• Breastfeeding encourages
women’s confidence and selfreliance, as they are able to
provide quality care for their
children.
• Breastfeeding strengthens the
bonding relationship between
mother and child. This is par
ticularly important for women
whose work separates them
from their children.
• Women who have breastfedare
less likely to develop breast
and ovarian cancers, and have
less osteoporosis later in life.
• Breastfeeding helps mothers
get back into shape faster.
be spent on bottle feeding and
on illnesses caused by bottle
feeding.
Benefits for employers
• Employers who support their
workers to meet both their
family and work responsibilities
benefit from less absenteeism,
less staffturnover, and improved
workerproductivity and morale.
Because breastfed babies are
healthier, workers are less often
absent; some programmes to
support breastfeeding workers
have had a two-fold return on
money invested.
Environmental benefits
• Breastfeeding is ecological in
its production, consumption and
disposal. It uses renewable
resources and produces only
biodegradable wastes.
• As more working women
choose to breastfeed, employ
ers will need to make
workplaces safer and cleaner,
and food producers will need to
consider the toxic effects of
pesticides.
Economic benefits
Benefits for families
• Breastfeeding mothers are
much less likely to become
pregnant. The child-spacing
effect of breastfeeding is im
portant for some women, par
ticularly women for whom
contraception is unavailable,
unaffordable or unacceptable.
• Breastfeeding saves families
the time and money that would
Companies who establish
Mother-Friendly Workplaces
will be viewed as good pro
gressiveemployers, supportive
of families.
Acknowledgement
This action folder was produced by the
WABA Women and Work Task Force
and the WABA Secretariat. Many
thanks to everyone who gave input and
helped review this folder. A special
thanks is due to the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for its
support to WABA.
• The health sector saves money
by not having to buy infant
formula and feeding bottles. It
also saves money indirectly
because breastfed babies are
less frequently and less severely
ill.
• Countries save foreign ex
change by not having to import
breastmilk substitutes.
Obstacles to breastfeeding
in the workplace:
From paper to practice
OVER THE PAST three years,
governments, through the
United Nations, have reaf
firmed the importance and
benefits of breastfeeding to
infants, mothers and society at
large in four key documents:
• Innocenti Declaration on the
Protection, Promotion and
Support of Breastfeeding (1
August 1990);
• Convention on the Rights of
the Child (September 1990);
• Declaration of the World
Summit on Children (30
September 1990); and
permanent contracts;
• Agricultural workers, do
mestics, and women working
in the informal sector in many
countries are not covered by
existing conventions;
• If costs for leave and child
care are bome by the em
ployers alone, they may
prefer to hire male workers;
• The lack of adequate income,
guaranteed job security, and
workplace child-care or
transportation to community
based care hinder possibili
ties for breastfeeding, even
• World Declaration on Nu
trition and Plan of Action
for Nutrition (December
1992)
Governments have acknowl
edged:
• The right ofinfants and moth
ers to exclusive breastfeed
ing;
• The right of women to cor
rect and consistent informa
tion and support in child
health and nutrition; and
• The right of children to pro
tection and development.
These UN documents, together
with the International Labour
Conventions (ILO) on Mater
nity Protection, are minimum
standards. They- recognise
women’s rights to maternity
and the rights of working
mothers to breastfeed their
infants. But, in practice, women
employed in various work en
vironments face many differ
ent obstacles to breastfeeding.
For instance:
• Maternity leave may only be
available to formally em
ployed women on annual or
when maternity leave is
available;
• Child-care facilities and
breastfeeding breaks may be
available in large compa
nies, but not in small com
panies or non-formal work
settings where most women
work;
• Baby food companies target
employed women by pro
moting their products as the
only solution available to
working mothers;
• Male-oriented attitudes of
governments and employ
ers result in treating mater
nity benefits as ‘doing a
favour to women’ instead of
as an entitlement and an
investment in the health of
society;
• National socio-economic
conditions (e.g. poverty,
heavy debt financing) leave
little resources to support
breastfeeding; and
• The overall low status of
women in many countries
gives lower priority to
women’s needs.
International documents
Innocenti Declaration
THE Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion
and Support of Breastfeeding, signed by 30 governments,
states that for optimal breastfeeding
all women should be enabled to practise exclusive
breastfeeding and all infants should be fed exclusively
on breastmilk from birth to four to six months of age.
■
Thereafter, children should continue to be breastfed,
while receiving appropriate and adequate complemen
taryfoods, for up to two years of age or beyond.
As part of its operational targets, this declaration calls on
all governments by 1995 to:
• Enact imaginative legislation protecting the breastfeed
ing rights of working women and establish meansfor its
enforcement; and
• Ensure the implementation of the International Code of
Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes so that the market
ing of such substitutes is not targeted at employed
women.
The Technical Meeting of June 1990 prior to the Innocenti
Declaration also recommends:
• The establishment of a task force on Women, Work and
Breastfeeding within National Breastfeeding Commit
tees, and
• The integration of issues relevant to employed women in
all breastfeeding promotion programmes.
BL© Conventions
MEASURES to protect breastfeeding women in com
merce and industry were first outlined by the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) as early as 1919 (Convention
No 3) and revised in 1952 (Convention No 103). These
conventions set the following standards:
• 12 weeks maternity leave (six weeks before and six
weeks after birth) with cash benefits of at least 66 per cent
of previous earnings;
• Two half-hour breastfeeding breaks during each working
day; and
• Prohibition of dismissal during maternity leave.
Later conventions and recommendations provided in
creased benefits to working women, extended these to
other groups of women, including agricultural workers,
and suggested measures such as parental leave to assist
workers with families.
Creating
mother
friendly
BREASTFEEDING thrives in mother-friendly workplaces. Few
women work in mother-friendly workplaces, although they
work in many different contexts. Their workplaces include
informal settings such as streets, farms, plantations, markets and
kitchens, and more formal settings such as offices, factories,
schools and hospitals. Every workplace has unique resources
and constraints, but can support women workers to breastfeed.
There are three essential requirements to ensure that every
mother, regardless of whether she is formally employed or not,
can combine breastfeeding and work successfully. These re
quirements are:
• Time
• Space/Proximity
• Support
Employers can provide these three requirements for women
workers if they have the political will.
Adequate provision for
THE MOTHER FRIENDLY
WORKPLACE
breastfeeding is an investment in
INITIATIVE ACTION FOLDER
the health of the present and
future workforce. Today’s babies
are tomorrow’s workers.
1»E
1. Provide at least four months paid maternity leave
(with an ideal of six months) that begins after the
baby is bom. Offer other options such as longer
maternity leave with partial pay.
2. Offer flexible work hours to breastfeeding
women such as part-time schedules, longer lunch
breaks, and job sharing.
3. Provide breastfeeding breaks of at least an hour a
day.
swwr
I. Support infant and child-care at or near the
workplace, and provide transportation for
mothers to join their babies. For rural
worksites and seasonal work, use mobile
child-care units.
2. Provide comfortable, private facilities for
expressing and storing breastmilk.
3. Keep the work environment clean
and safe from hazardous wastes and
chemicals.
Inform women workers and unions about
maternity benefits and provide information
to support women s health.
Ensure that mothers have full job security.
Encourage co-workers and management to
have a positive attitude toward
breastfeeding in public.
Encourage a network of supportive
women in unions or workers’ groups
who can help women to combine
breastfeeding and work.
• Ensure that hospitals and clinics are
Action ideas
What you
can do to
promote
breastfeeding
at the
workplace
Working women
• Raise the issue of breastfeeding at your
trade union, women’s group, or com
munity organisation.
• Form a mother support group at your
workplace to exchange practical infor
mation on breastfeeding techniques and
management, or join an existing mother
support group.
• Self-employed women such as street
vendors can form child-care coopera
tives, even breastfeeding each other’s
babies.
Employers
• Follow the suggestions given on Creat
ing Mother-Friendly Workplaces.
• Weigh thedirectand indirect advantages
of innovative child-care solutions versus
their immediate costs.
Unions and workers' groups
• Develop co-operative child-care pro
grammes at work. Ensure that child
care staff are supportive of and knowl
edgeable about breastfeeding.
• Demand a clean working environment,
safe from occupational hazards (e.g.
chemicals, radiation), especially for
breastfeeding mothers.
• Lobby for adequate paid maternity leave,
breastfeeding breaks, and family pro
grammes that include pre-natal educa
tion about breastfeeding.
• Demonstrate that mother-friendly
workplaces are beneficial to all women,
and all workers.
• Create alliances with international lab
our federations and people’s organisa
tions to support the rights of breastfeeding
workers.
Health care workers
• Inform working women about the ad
vantages of exclusive breastfeeding and
the dangers of bottle-feeding.
• Offer practical advice on combining work
and breastfeeding to employers and
working women.
mother-friendly workplaces.
• Provide family planning methods that
support breastfeeding.
• Help employed mothers real ise that they
can breastfeed without having to resort
to commercial products.
Environmental and community
action groups
• Increase public awareness that
breastfeeding is environmentally
friendly, whereas bottle-feeding is not.
• Use World Breastfeeding Week to at
tract media attention to this issue.
• Get well-known celebrities to publicly
support breastfeeding and raise funds.
• Prepare a press release and fact sheets on
the problems of working women and
breastfeeding for the media, especially
women’s magazines.
• Hold writing or drawing contests on the
theme to bring the issue to a variety of
audiences and to create opportunities
for fund raising.
Women’s groups and
policy makers
• Lobby the government to support child
care and maternity leave costs.
• Determine whether existing maternity
legislation is implemented, and whether
it applies to all women workers.
• In countries without national maternity
legislation, lobby the government to
implement minimum maternity bene
fits as recommended by the ILO con
ventions.
• Encourage Women in Development
(WID) projects to include compatibility
with breastfeeding as a consideration in
planning income generating projects.
• Link breastfeeding rights to campaigns
of human rights, gender equity and child
survival.
FOR MORE ACTION IDEAS
ask for WABA activity sheets on:
• Breastfeeding as a feminist issue
• Breastfeeding: A world resource
• Mother-to-mothersupport for breastfeed
ing
• Protection, support and promotion of
breastfeeding
• Putting the Code into practice
• Women’s health, work and breastfeed
ing
• Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative action
folder
For more information, write to the
WABA Secretariat, PO Box 1200
10850 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: 60-4-6584816; Fax: 60-4-6572655
Resources
Women, work and breastfeeding.
Penny van Esterik, Cornell Inter
national Nutrition Monograph No.
23, Div. of Nutritional Sciences,
Savage Hall, Cornell Uni., Ith
aca, NY 14853, USA (US$5.00)
Creating linkages: Women, work
and child-care. The Coordinator’s
Notebook, Issue II, July 1992.
Consultative Group on Early
Childhood Care and Development,
UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York,
NY 10017, USA.
La mujer y sus derechos de trabajo. Ministerio de Trabajo y
Prevision Social, Oficina Nacional
de la Mujer, 14 Calle 5-49, Zona
1, Guatemala, Guatemala. 1992.
(US$5.00)
Having a baby? Maternity leave
provisions. Women’s Employ
ment Branch, Department of
Labour, Level 1, Nauru House, 80
Collins St, Melbourne 3000,
Australia. (Brochure available in
Arabic, Italian, Creation, Serbian,
Turkish, Vietnamese, Greek,
Khmer, Macedonian and Span
ish)
World for work. International
Labour Office, attention: PRESS,
CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland.
(Available in English, French,
Spanish, German and Arabic)
(Free)
Courrier de 1'IBFAN. MAPBIN/
CHAN, B.P. 1134, Port Louis,
Mauritius. (Subscription: Asia/
Africa: US $8.00; Europe/USA:
US$10.00)
Mothers and children. APHA
Clearinghouse, 1015 15th St. NW,
Washington, DC 20005, USA.
(Also available in French and
Spanish.) (Subscription: Africa/
Asia/Latin America/Middle East:
Free. Europe/USA: US $10.00)
Breastfeeding briefs. The Geneva
Infant Feeding Association (GIFA),
CP 157, 1211 Geneva 19, Swit
zerland. (Available in English,
French, Spanish and Portuguese)
(Free)
Status of Maternity Protection by Country
Paternity Leave
(in days)
Parental Leave
(in days)
in
T—1
Who Pays?
J2
(D
(U
>17weeks
J2
<D
<D
£
OTHER
LEAVES
>26 weeks
12 weeks
1-11 weeks
J2
CD
(D
£
n
T—1
16 weeks
NATIONALLY MANDATED
MATERNITY LEAVE
<4
WABA
• www.waba.org.br/countryfiles7.him
• !LO Report V(2)
• Feedback from WABA, IBFAN network & trade
unions
• Ministry of Labour of listed countries
BREAST
FEEDING
BREAKS
P A ID /U N P A ID
Other sources
YES/NO
Initial sources:
AFRICA
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burundi
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Cape Verde Islands
Central Afr. Rep.
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Dem. Rep. Congo
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Erithea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Z
A
▲
z
A/ .El
z
z
z
N
N
3
▲
▲
z
z
4
3
3
AD
AA«
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
A
AAi
A
▲
▲
▲
AA
A
3
10
10
10
2
10
A
5
3
Y
P
Y
P
Y
P
p
Y
p
Y
p
Y
Y
p
p
Y
p
N
Y
p
Y
p
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
A AD
A
▲
AA
AA
3
A
A
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
p
N
AA
A
10
A A El
3
A
A
A
A
A
Y
p
Y
p
Y
p
Y
N
p
Y
p
p
Y
p
Y
p
Y
p
Y
p
Y
p
p
Y
N
-
Y
Y
u
p
Y
p
p
A AB
A
▲
A
4
* One year with basic salary for breastfeeding mothers.
______________________________________________________________________________ ________
[Legend: A Public Funds A Employer 1 Others ® Unpaid
|
Y = Yes
p = Paid
N = No
10 = Unpaid
EXPLANATION: Duration of leave as mandated in the national law may be paid in full or partially paid. Different sectors also provide different length of
maternity leave in some countries. The minimum standard for the duration of leave arc indicated in this chart.
Different ways that breastfeeding breaks arc practised in some countries. Breastfeeding breaks at the workplace means: the working mother takes time off from
work io breastfeed her baby whom she brings along or expresses her breastmilk or goes home to breastfeed or has flexi-time arrangement.
Update 5 Sept 2002
|
Z
z
z
A
3
AAi
YES/NO
(in days)
F Paternity Leave
Parental Leave
(in days)
Who Pays?
>26 weeks
16 weeks
T—<
>17weeks
13 weeks
12 weeks
|
Senegal
Seychelles
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
U.R. Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
1
t—
J2
0)
(U
£
in
Y
p
Y
p
p
▲
z
z
*
z
z
AA
AA
3
N
A
z
3
▲ A El
z
z
z
a iv d N fi/a iv d
WABA
J2
<u
(D
1
in
o
(U
5
BREAST
FEEDING
breaks
OTHER
LEAVES
NATIONALLY MANDATED
MATERNITY LEAVE
<4
Y&N
Y
p
N
Y
p
A
N
A
z
z
z
z
A
Y
A
N
A
Y
AA
N
p
p
AMERICAS
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Lucia
Trinidad & Tobago
USA
Uruguay
Venezuela
A
z
z
z
z
10
5
N
A
A
N
5
AA
z
z
z
z
z
Y
AA
5
AA
A
A
A
245
Y
Y
U
p
Y
p
N
7
Y
p
Y
p
AA
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
p
A
N
AA
N
AA
Y
p
AA
Y
p
AA
p
AA
N
2
AA
z
A
z
z
z
z
z
z
N
V
p
V
p
▲
AA
N
Y
p
A
Y
V
p
AA
z
A
A
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[Legend: A Public Funds A Employer ■ Others S> Unpaid
2 WABA/Status of the Maternity Protection by Country/Update 5 Sept 2002
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|
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LEAVES
YES/NO
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Y
P
ASIA/MIDDLE EAST
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Cambodia
China
Egypt
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Iran
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakstan
Kuwait
Laos PDR
Lebanon
Libya
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Pakistan
P.R Korea
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Syrian Arab Rep
Thailand
U. Arab Emirates
Vietnam
Yemen
z
▲
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z
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▲
▲
N
▲
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365
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A
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z
z
z
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p
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▲
EUROPE
z
Austria
Albania
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
A
z
z
z
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z
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___________________________________________________________________________________
|Legend: A Public Funds A Employer ■ Others <S> Unpaid
|
N = No
p = Paid u = UnPaid
WABA/Status of the Maternity Protection by Country/Update 5 Sept 2002
3
A
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p
158
12
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z
z
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2
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z
z
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210
120
330
126
182
60
PAID/UNPAID
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14
14
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365
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z
z
z
YES/NO
Who Pays?
>26 weeks
16 weeks
>17weeks
15 weeks
14 weeks
13 weeks
12 weeks
z
Paternity Leave
(in days)
Cyprus
Czech Rep
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Georgia
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Russian Fed.
1-11 weeks
WABA|
BREAST
FEEDING
breaks
Parental Leave
(in days)
OTHER
LEAVES
NATIONALLY MANDATED
MATERNITY LEAVE
Y
p
p
N
-
Y
p
Y
p
N
N
180/330
Y
p
Y
p
p
30
2
7
Y
p
Y
p
N
▲
365
180/365
N
A
A
A
A
A
A
65
2
14
Y
1095
720
90
730
5
5
Y
p
p
Y
p
Y
u
Y
p
Y
p
Y
p
z
p
u
Y
p
365
z
A
A
z
✓
450
2
28
0AD
z
z
z
z
A
A
A
A
365
®
365 <3
540
N
OCEANIA
z
Australia
Fiji
New Zealand
Solomon Islands
Papua New Guinea
z
N
Y&N
▲
z
®
z
z
365 S
14
N
A
Y
p
A
Y
p
*4 additional weeks for breastfeeding mothers
|Legend:
A
Public Funds A
Employer
■
Others
<9
Unpaid
|
p = paid
u = unpaid
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global people's initiative to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. WABA works on the Innocenti Declaration
in close liaison with the United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF). This document is developed by the WABA Women & Work Task Force as part of the Maternity Protection
Campaign to support women's right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitilements. The information was
compiled by Ines Fernandez (ARUGAAN, Philippines), Michelle Jambu and Koay Vi Vien with valuable contributions from Elaine Petitat-Cote (IBFAN/GIFA) and the Maternity
Protection Coalition. The Maternity Protection Coalition consisting of groups from the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant
Association (ILCA) the LINKAGES project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala
University, Sweden (IMCH) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). WABA. PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang. Malaysia. Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email:
waba@streamyx.com Website; www.waba.org.my Women & Work: www.waba.org.br/working.htm
WABA/Status of the Maternity Protection by Country/Update 5 Sept 2002
The World Health Assembly Decisions on
Infant & Young Child Feeding
with focus on Maternity Protection at Work
We have summarised the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (IC) to make it
easier to understand. Subsequent relevant World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolutions are also listed
and we quote the relevant parts.
The Resolutions are important because they have the same official status as the IC.
In other words, they make one package. Resolution WHA55.15, Infant and young child nutrition, is
the most recent resolution on infant feeding (2002). It adopted the Global Strategy on infant and
young child feeding (GS). We have summarised the GS and quote only the paragraphs that relate to
maternity protection.
WHA 34.22/The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk
Substitutes - 1981
Art 1: The Code aims to protect infant health by protecting and supporting breastfeeding. It does not
ban breastmilk substitutes but sets out appropriate marketing of breastmilk substitutes.
Art. 2: It applies to breastmilk substitutes including infant formula, other milk products, foods and
beverages, including bottle-fed complementary foods when marketed or otherwise represented to be
suitable for use as partial or total replacement of breastmilk; it also covers bottles and teats.
Art. 4: It clarifies the responsibilities of governments concerning information about infant and child
feeding and their relation to company information material; warnings are compulsory; it is forbidden
to idealise breastmilk substitutes.
Art 5: Advertisements are forbidden for the general public and companies cannot seek to contact
pregnant women or mothers.
Art. 6: Promotion of products and distribution of free supplies to the health care system are
forbidden.
Art. 7: Companies cannot distribute free samples to health professionals; information they give has to
be factual and scientific; if they fund activities there should be no conflict of interest.
Art. 8: Company personnel cannot train mothers or pregnant women; companies are not allowed to
pay employees on commission.
Art 9: Labels must include warnings, clear instructions for use in an appropriate language, no
idealised text or image.
Art. 10: Products have to meet Codex Alimentarius Commission standards of quality.
Art. 11: It is the responsibility of governments to implement, monitor and report progress to WHO.
Companies must abide by the provisions of the International Code at all levels. NGOs should monitor
and report violations.
Subsequent WHA Resolutions - 1982-2001
WHA35.26- 1982
“1.
URGES Member States.- to give renewed attention to the need to adopt national legislation,
regulations or other suitable measures to give effect to the International Code;"
WHA37.30 - 1984
“3.
REQUESTS the Director-General: (1) to continue and intensify collaboration with Member
States in their efforts to implement and monitor the International Code ofMarketing ofBreastmilk
Substitutes as an important measure at the national level; (2) to support Member States in examining
the problem of the promotion and use offoods unsuitable for infant and young childfeeding, and
ways ofpromoting the appropriate use of infant foods... "
WHA39.28 - 1986
“2.
URGES Member States:... (3) to make the fullest use of all concerned parties - health
professional bodies, non governmental organisations, consumer organisations, manufacturers and
distributors - generally, in protecting and promoting breastfeeding and, specifically, in
implementing the Code and monitoring its implementation and compliance with its provisions; "...
(6) to ensure that the small amounts ofbreastmilk substitutes neededfor the minority of infants who
require them in maternity wards and hospitals are made available through the normal procurement
channels and not through free or subsidised supplies..."
“3.
REQUESTS the Director General: ...(2) to specifically direct the attention ofMember
States and other interested parties to the following: (a) any food or drink given before
complementary feeding is nutritionally required...should neither be promoted nor encouragedfor
use by infants during this period; (b) the practice being introduced in some countries ofproviding
infants with speciallyformulated milks (so-called "follow-up milks") is not necessary... "
WHA41.il - 1988
“2.
URGES Member States: ...(2) to ensure practices and procedures that are consistent with the
aim and principles of the International Code ofMarketing ofBreastmilk Substitutes... "
“3.
REQUESTS the Director-General; to continue to collaborate with Member States, through
WHO regional offices and in collaboration with other agencies of the United Nations system,
especially FAO and UNICEF: ...(2) in establishing effective nutritional status surveillance systems...
(4) in monitoring, together with other maternal and child health indicators, changes in the prevalence
and duration offull and supplemented breastfeeding with a view to improving breastfeeding rates; (5)
in developing recommendations regarding diet, including timely complementary feeding and
appropriate weaning practices...; (6) in providing legal and technical assistance... in the drafting
and/or the implementation of national codes of marketing of breastmilk substitutes, or other similar
instruments... "
WHA43.3 - 1990
“2.
URGES Member States: (4) to enforce existing, or adopt new, maternity protection
legislation or other suitable measures that will promote and facilitate breastfeeding among working
women:... (6) to ensure that the principles and aim of the International Code ofMarketing of
Breastmilk Substitutes and the recommendations contained in resolution WHA39.28 are given full
expression in national health and nutrition policy and action...; (7) to ensure thatfamilies make the
most appropriate choice with regard to infant feeding and that the health system provides the
necessary support... ”
WHA45.34 - 1992
"Reaffirming that the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is a minimum
requirement...
Reaffirming that during the first four-to-six months of life no food or liquid other than breastmilk, not
even water, is required to meet the normal infant's nutritional requirements...;
Expressing once again its concern about the need to protect and support women in the workplace for
their own sakes but also in the light of their multiple roles as mothers and care-providers, inter alia,
by applying existing legislation fully for maternity protection, expanding it to cover any women at
present excluded, or where appropriate, adopting new measures to protect breastfeeding... "
“2.
URGES Member States: (I) to give full expression at national level to the operational targets
of the Innocenti Declaration, namely... (d) by enacting legislation and adopting means for its
enforcement to protect breastfeeding rights of working women...(2) to encourage and support all
public and private health facilities providing maternity services so that they become "baby
friendly"... (3) to take measures appropriate to national circumstances aimed at ending the donation
or low-priced sale ofsupplies of breastmilk substitutes to health-carefacilities providing maternity
services..
“3.
REQUESTS the Director-General: ...(5) to consider, in collaboration with the International
Labour Organization, the options available to the health sector and other interested sectors for
reinforcing the protection of women in the workplace in view oftheir maternal responsibilities, and to
report to a future Health Assembly in this regard. "
WHA47.5 -1994
“2.
URGES Member States:. ..(I) to promote sound infant and young child nutrition, in keeping
with their commitment to the World Declaration and Plan ofAction for Nutrition (FAO/WHO,
International Conference on Nutrition, Rome, December 1992) (breastfeeding is superior to other
feeding methods; mothers should be supported in their choice to breastfeed; health professional
should be trained to support them)... (2) to ensure that there are no donations offree or subsidized
supplies of breastmilk substitutes and other products covered by the International Code ofMarketing
of Breastmilk Substitutes in any part of the health care system... "
REQUESTS the Director-General: ...(4) to urge Member States to initiate the Baby-friendly Hospital
Initiative...and to improve educational curricula and in-service training... (5) to increase and
strengthen support to Member States... in giving effect to the principles and aim of the International
Code and all relevant resolutions... ”
WHA49.15 - 1996
“3.
URGES Member States: (1) to ensure that complementatyfoods are not marketedfor or used
in ways that undermine exclusive and sustained breast-feeding; (2) to ensure that the financial
support for professionals working in infant and young child health does not create conflicts of
interest..., ; (3) to ensure that monitoring the application of the International Code and subsequent
relevant resolutions is carried out in a transparent, independent mannerfree from commercial
influence... ".
WHA54.2 - 2001
“Noting the guidance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular Ar ticle 24, which
recognises, inter alia, ... the advantages of breastfeeding for all segments of society, in particular
parents and children;
“2. URGES Member States: (I) to recognise the right of everyone to have access to safe and
nutritious food... (2) to take necessaiy measures as States Parties effectively to implement the
Convention on the Rights of the Child... (3) to set up or strengthen institutional and intersectoral
discussion forums with all stakeholders in order to reach national consensus on strategies and
policies including reinforcing, in collaboration with ILO, policies that support breastfeeding by
working women, in order substantially to improve infant and young child feeding and to develop
participatory mechanisms for establishing and implementing specific nutrition programmes and
projects aimed at new initiatives and innovative approaches; (4) to strengthen activities and develop
new approaches to protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding for six months as a global
public health recommendation, taking into account the findings of the WHO expert consultation on
optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and to provide safe and appropriate complementaty
foods, with continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond, emphasizing channels of
social dissemination of these concepts in order to lead communities to adhere to these practices; (5)
to support the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative...; (6) to improve complementaty foods andfeeding
practices....by recommending the widest possible use of indigenous nutrient-rich foodstuffs...; (8) to
strengthen national mechanisms to ensure global compliance with the International Code of
Marketing ofBreast-milk Substitutes and subsequent relevant Health Assembly resolutions, with
regard to labelling as well as allforms of advertising, and commercial promotion in all types of
media...; 10) to recognize and assess the available scientific evidence on the balance of risk ofHIV
transmission through breastfeeding compared with the risk of not breastfeeding and the needfor
independent research... to recognize that when replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible,
affordable, sustainable and safe, avoidance of all breastfeeding by HIV-positive women is
recommended; otherwise, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended during the first months of life; and
that those who choose other options should be encouraged to use them free of commercial
influences..."
WHA55.15 - Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Nutrition - 2002
The Global Strategy is based on the respect, protection, facilitation and fulfilment of accepted human
rights principles as entrenched in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in other international
documents. It aims to improve, through optimal feeding, the nutritional status, growth, development,
health and survival of infants and young children. Its objectives are to raise awareness of the problems
affecting infant and young child feeding; to increase the commitment of governments, international
agencies and other concerned parties; to create an environment that enables mothers, families and all
caregivers to make informed choices about feeding; and to offer a guide for action. It asks for the
concerted efforts and collaboration of all concerned, necessitates political will and public investment,
calls for the awareness of health workers, as well as for the involvement of families and communities.
The Global Strategy reiterates, as a public health recommendation, that infants should be exclusively
breastfed for the first six months of life and receive thereafter nutritionally adequate and safe
complementary foods while still breastfeeding till the age of two or beyond. To enable this, women
have to be supported in their family, their community, at the workplace with accurate information,
skilled practical help, psychological assistance and maternity protection legislation (meeting the
standard of ILO Convention 183).
To achieve the Strategy objectives, the strategy builds on existing approaches, the first step being to
meet the four operational targets of the Innocenti Declaration (target 4: enacting imaginative
legislation protecting the breastfeeding rights of working women and establishing means of its
enforcement). As these targets are based on breastfeeding alone, additional targets have to be
developed to meet the feeding requirements of children until the age of three.
The Strategy goes on to describe what protection (including maternity entitlements), promotion, and
support in the health care system and at community level are needed for a feeding policy to be
effective. It also describes the obligations and responsibilities of the various “concerned parties”, the
government, health professional bodies, non-governmental organisations and community-based
groups, commercial enterprises, the social partners, education authorities, the mass media and the
international organisations.
Concerning maternity protection at the workplace, the Strategy mentions the issue in several
paragraphs (12, 28, 34, 45,46, 48):
Paragraph 12: "Women in paid employment can be helped to continue breastfeeding by being
provided with minimum enabling conditions, for example paid maternity leave, part-time work
arrangements, on-site creches, facilities for expressing and storing breast milk, and breastfeeding
breaks (see paragraph 28). "
Paragraph 28: "Mothers should also be able to continue breastfeeding and caringfor their children
after they return to paid employment. This can be accomplished by implementing maternity protection
legislation and related measures consistent with ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 No 183
and Maternity Protection Recommendation, 2000 No. 191. Maternity leave, day-care facilities and
paid breastfeeding breaks should be available for all women employed outside the home. "
Paragraph 34: "A comprehensive national policy, based on a thorough needs assessment, should
foster an environment that protects, promotes and supports appropriate infant and young child
feeding practices. An effective feeding policy consistent with efforts to promote overall household
food security requires the following critical interventions:
For protection:
• Adopting and monitoring application ofa policy of maternity entitlements, consistent with the
ILO Maternity Protection Convention and Recommendation, in order to facilitate
breastfeeding by women in paid employment, including those whom the standards describe as
engaging in atypicalforms ofdependent work, for example part-time, domestic and
intermittent employment... "
Paragraph 45: "Employers should ensure that maternity entitlements ofall women in paid
employment are met, including breastfeeding breaks or other workplace arrangements -for example
facilities for expressing and storing breast milkfor laterfeeding by caregiver - in order to facilitate
breast milkfeeding once paid maternity leave is over. Trade unions have a direct role in negotiating
adequate maternity entitlements and security of employment for women of reproductive age (see
paragraphs 28 and 34). "
Paragraph 46: "Other groups: ....child-care facilities, which permit working mothers to care for
their infants and young children, should support andfacilitate continued breastfeeding and breast
milkfeeding."
Paragraph 48: "Specific contributions of international organisations to facilitate the work of
governments include the following: ...to support policy development and promotion: ...advocating
ratification ofILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 No. 183 and application of
Recommendation 2000 No. 191, includingfor women in atypical forms of dependent work;... "
This document was prepared by Elaine Petitat-Cote, IBFAN/GIFA as part of the enclosures for the Maternity Protection
Campaign kit. We would like to thank Yeong Joo Kean (ICDC, Penang) for her review of this document
Produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network (1BFAN),
the International Consultant Association (ILCA), the Linkages Project and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA),
with technical assistance from International Maternal & Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University, Sweden and United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation and
monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements. IBFAN/GIFA, CP 157, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland. Fax: 4122-7984443; Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Tel: 919-7875181;
Fax; 919-7874916; Email: info@ilca.org • IMCH, Dept of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Entrance 11,
S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden Tel: 46-18-6115958; Fax; 46-18-508013 • The Linkages Project, Academy for Educational
Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20009, USA. Tel: 202-8848000; Fax: 202-8848977; Email:
linkages@aed.org; Website: www linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia. Fax: 604-6572655;
Email: waba@streamyx.com; Website: www.waba.org.my
Statement by UNICEF to the Committee on Maternity Protection,
International Labour Conference,
88th Session, Geneva, 30 May to 15 June 2000
At last year’s discussion before the Committee on Maternity Protection, UNICEF high
lighted the significant advances in scientific knowledge on the needs of women and their
children during the first months of life. Reference was made to Report V(l), Maternity
protection at work, which states that “(t)he promotion of breastfeeding has become a part of
national health policy for compelling medical reasons” and that “(e)xclusive breastfeeding
can contribute to significantly reducing the incidence, severity and duration of common
illnesses among newborns, in particular upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infec
tion and otitis media.” Worldwide, reduction of artificial feeding and improved breast
feeding practices could save an estimated 1.5 million children a year. It would also lower
mothers’ lifetime risks of breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.
UNICEF also took the opportunity last year to point out that women have a right to
breastfeed their children, and that breastfeeding is an essential component in assuring the
child’s right to the highest attainable standard of health. This latter aspect is enshrined in
Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is binding on all govern
ments in the world with the exception of the USA and Somalia. This means that govern
ments are under an obligation to ensure an environment that empowers women to breast
feed their children if they choose to do so. Working women do not lose the right to this
enabling environment because they are in paid employment.
UNICEF thus in 1999 expressed its disappointment that the re-negotiation of the MPC
was not being seized as an opportunity to increase the protection of working mothers, and
indeed, as far as the right to nursing breaks was concerned, there was an attempt to take
away a right that women had enjoyed since 1919. Thankfully the heated debate around this
issue last year resulted in the reintroduction of the right to nursing breaks in the proposed
Convention.
In the coming days the proposed Convention and Recommendation will be discussed and
agreed upon by the Committee. The final instruments will influence the way the rights of
working mothers are respected or denied around the world for many years to come. The
Secretary General has reminded us that human rights lie at the heart of all that the United
Nations aspires to achieve. We must thus ensure that the Convention and the Recommenda
tion protect, respect, facilitate and fulfill the rights of children and women. These instru
ments must recognise the fundamental contribution of women to the welfare of the family
and to the development of society. They must recognise the social significance of maternity
and the fact that the upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men
and women and society as a whole. To achieve this, UNICEF believes that the instruments
should thus provide for the following rights:
The Proposed Convention should provide for:
1.
Sixteen weeks of paid maternity leave. This is a revision of Article 3, Report IV (2B),
which provides for maternity leave of not less than 12 weeks.
2.
Two half-hour remunerated breastfeeding breaks for up to one year, a revision of
Article 9, Report IV (2B), which provides for only one or more daily breaks without
mention of duration of breaks or entitlement.
3.
A safe, clean and private space for breastfeeding or expression of breastmilk at the
workplace. This is a revision and movement to the Convention of point 10 in the draft
R, Report IV (2B).
The ILO Maternity Protection Recommendation 2000 must provide:
1.
At least six months paid maternity leave after birth. This is a revision of point 1 (1) in
the draft Recommendation, Report IV (2B), which provides for 16 weeks.
2.
One half-hour breastfeeding break for working mothers of young children between the
ages of one and two years. This is a new recommendation which UNICEF feels is
important given the recommended duration of continued breastfeeding (2 years or
beyond).
UNICEF believes that the adoption of these provisions will be a major step towards the
realization of every woman’s right to breastfeed her children and of the child’s right to the
highest attainable standard of health. The adoption and implementation of these provisions
will have a significant effect on mother and child health in every country around the world,
and will send a clear message that as in all other areas of United Nations activity, in the
field of labour issues, human rights take precedence.
UNICEF Statement / iLO Conference / Geneva, June 2000
WHO Statement to the International Labour Conference,
88th Session, Geneva, 2 June 2000
Health Aspects of Maternity Leave and Maternity Protection
Pregnancy and childbirth are at the core of human development and adequate attention to
the health and well-being of the pregnant woman and her infant is a concern for the society
as a whole. WHO affirms the human right of women to go safely through pregnancy and
childbirth. Most deaths of mothers associated with pregnancy and childbirth are avoidable
and high rates of maternal mortality can be considered as a violation of women’s right to
life. Breastfeeding promotes child health and development and is an essential partof assur
ing children’s right to health.
This statement provides information on women’s and infant health as it relates to the
revision of ILO Maternity Protection Convention No 103 and Maternity Protection Recom
mendation No 95. It complements previous information provided by WHO to ILO on the
issue in 1951 and in 1997. WHO recently reviewed the scientific evidence on the health
implications of maternity leave & maternity protection.
Concerning Health in Pregnancy, WHO’s assessment of available evidence indicates that:
o
A pregnant woman should have the opportunity to attend a minimum of four antenatal
care visits, the first visit early in pregnancy and one visit after week 36, in order to
identify and manage complications in a timely manner.
©
Provisions are needed for rest breaks or alternatively shorter working hours during
pregnancy.
•
A pregnant woman needs to work in a safe and healthy environment. The mother and
her infant need to be protected from noxious agents and therefore an assessment of
work place exposure to biological, chemical and physical hazards is needed. Appropri
ate adjustments may be needed in the conditions of work for women who are pregnant
to eliminate or minimize the risks as these noxious agents may cause spontaneous
abortion, central nervous system damage, growth defects and congenital abnormalities
to the infant.
•
A pregnant woman needs to have a reduced physical work load, and no night work
during the second half of pregnancy as it may cause ill health to the mother, provoke
preterm birth or infants with low birth weight. Physical workload includes, for ex
ample, ergonomically strenuous postures (stooping and squatting), prolonged standing
or walking, heavy lifting, and pushing or pulling.
•
Therefore, a pregnant woman needs complete absence from work from week 34 to 36
depending on her health status & physical workload.
Concerning the Health ofthe Mother and the Infant during and after childbirth, WHO’s
assessment of available evidence indicates that:
•
During delivery the woman and child need, as a minimum, a skilled birth attendant to
manage normal childbirth, to prevent, recognize and manage complications in a timely
way and transfer to a referral hospital, when needed.
•
A period of absence from work after birth is of utmost importance to the health of the
mother and the infant. This is conducive to both the optimal growth of the infant and
the bonding between mother and infant. Absence from work also allows the mother to
recover. The time needed depends on her health before, during and after birth, as well
as on the health of the infant and whether or not the birth was complicated. After
delivery maternal health problems that may arise include infection, anaemia, depres
sion, backache, anxiety & extreme tiredness.
•
Breastfeeding is a major determinant of infant health. There is ample evidence on the
advantages of breastfeeding for child health and development and for the prevention of
child mortality and morbidity. Infants who are exclusively breastfed (that is, receiving
only breastmilk and no other food or drink) for at least 4 months have significantly less
gastrointestinal and respiratory illness including ear infections and asthma, than those
who are not breastfed. Breastfeeding is particularly important for the preterm and/or
low birth weight infant. WHO recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed
on demand from birth for at least 4 and, if possible, 6 months of age and should con
tinue to be breastfed together with adequate complementary food until the age of 2
years or beyond. Women who are unable to breastfeed on demand are at increased risk
of stopping breastfeeding prematurely.
®
In conclusion, women need at least 16 weeks absence from work after delivery'.
Concerning Special Facilities and Services for Nursing Mothers and their Children'
o
Child-care facilities at or near the workplace are ideal for continuing breastfeeding after
return to work. If this is not possible, mothers need facilities where they can breastfeed
or express and store breastmilk. The requirements for such facilities are that they are
safe, clean and private. The requirements are similar to those for preparing safe food:
that they are clean and have clean water available for washing hands and manipulating
utensils.
o
The minimum requirements to allow women to continue breastfeeding are two breaks
from work daily of 30 minutes each, not taking into account time needed for transporta
tion, upon return to work and for the first year of life of the breastfeeding child.
Conc&mmg Additional Provision for Maternity Leave Under Abnormal Circumstances:
•
If the woman or the infant is ill, i.e. in the event of complications of pregnancy, she and
the infant will need more extensive health care and leave.
WHO wishes to emphasize the importance of adopting these provisions for the fulfillment
of women’s human rights to health and life. The Convention and the Recommendation with
these provisions included will have a major impact on the health of women and children
worldwide. ■
WHO Statement / ILO Conference / Geneva, June 2000
Breastfeeding: Who benefits? Who pays?
y/ When babies are well-fed
Everyone benefits when children get the nourishment they need in order to develop their full potential—as
students, as family members, as the next generation of workers.
V When women are healthier
Everyone benefits when women are protected from iron-deficiency anemia. Breastfeeding mothers rebuild their
bodies’ iron stores better after pregnancy because the return of menstruation is delayed. Everyone benefits when
older women have lower rates of osteoporosis and breast and ovarian cancers. Breastfeeding reduces women’s
risk of these diseases.
When babies are strong and resist infections
Everyone benefits when babies are protected against ear and respiratory infections
and diarrhoea. Caring for sick babies uses time and money and takes parents away
from their jobs.
V When milk for babies is produced at home, not purchased
Everyone benefits when mothers provide milk, their own natural resource. Buying
breastmilk substitutes can cost a family from 5% (New Zealand) to 50% (Indonesia)
to more than 200% (Nigeria) of the national minimum wage. For a nation, importing
baby milks and foods uses up scare foreign exchange.
Mothers' milk is rarely
recognized as having
any market value.
In Mali, the GDP
would increase by 5%
if human milk, based
on a value of $1 US
per liter, were
included.
Everyone benefits when babies are breastfed.
Everyone should share the costs.
■J Women in the workforce
Women supply the main financial support for 30% of the world’s homes.
Women make up 50% of potential workers.
Increasing numbers of women are spending their childbearing years in the
workforce. By 2010, it is predicted that 70% of women will be employed
during their childbearing years.
The purpose of maternity protection at the workplace is to safeguard the
childbearing woman, her baby, and her job.
In the USA, the Aetna
company reports a $2.18
return on investment for
every $1.00 spent on
breastfeeding support for
employees.
V Workplace effects when workers have babies
If women workers leave the job when they have children, employers bear the costs of high turnover, including
recruitment, hiring, orientation, and training of new workers.
If workers are distracted by family concerns such as sick children, employers bear the costs of increased absentee
ism and lower productivity.
By acknowledging and accommodating workers’ family concerns, employers reap the benefit of increased
productivity and employee loyalty.
An efficient, stable, and loyal workforce gives a competitive
advantage to the employer.
This document was prepared by Chris Mulford, ILCA/WABA, as part of the enclosures for the Maternity Protection Campaign kit. Produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition
(MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), the International Consultant Association (ILCA), the Linkages Project and World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from International Maternal & Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University, Sweden and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The MPC
supports women's right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements • IBFAN/GIFA, CP 157, CH-1211
Geneva 19, Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-7984443, Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Trail, Suite 102, NC Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Tel: 919-7875181, Fax: 919-7874916,
Email: info@ilca.org • IMCH, Dept of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Entrance 11, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115958, Fax: 46-18-508013 • The
Linkages Project, Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20009, USA. Tel: 202-8848000, Fax: 202-8848977, Email: linkages@aed.org
Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200,10850 Penang, Malaysia. Fax: 604-6572655, Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
Maternity Entitlements that fully
SUPPORT BREASTFEEDING
Global public health recommendations are exclusive breastfeeding (nothing but human milk)
for babies until six months of age, then continued breastfeeding with added complementary
foods until two years of age or beyond. The challenge is to sustain breastfeeding at this level
when a woman is employed, for milk production depends on frequent feeding. She can offset
the effects of separation from her baby if she can express her milk at the workplace, and she
can carry the expressed milk home for her baby. Breastfeeding women need time, space and
support from her workplace and family to be able to follow the global recommendations.
What arrangements enable a mother to follow these recommendations?
Maternity Leave
• It takes time to establish breastfeeding well. 14-18 weeks is the minimum that was set by
the International Labour Organisation in 2000. Six months would be ideal.
• When leave is paid, more women will be able to use it.
• Flexibility is desirable, such as returning to work part-time at first.
Cost of Maternity Leave
• income replacement for the worker on leave
• replacement worker during her absence
• re-training if needed when she returns
Breastfeeding Breaks after returning to the job
• A 30-minute break for every four work hours is typical.
• Women need more frequent breaks at first, then less frequent breaks as the baby gets older.
• Break time should be paid time if other types of break (such as smoking breaks, toilet
breaks, lunch breaks, coffee breaks) are paid.
Cost of Breastfeeding Breaks
• Two half-hour breaks per 8-hour day add up to 1 hour per day or 12.5% (1/8) of a day’s
pay.
• In some jobs, a replacement worker or a rearrangement of shifts is needed to cover workers
during their breaks.
The worker who has taken care of her baby and herself by nursing or expressing milk
returns to her task physically comfortable, knowing her baby's milk supply is secure,
and ready to work efficiently.
Facilities
A breastfeeding woman needs
• Easy access to a small, clean space with room to sit down and a door, screen, or curtain
• Access to a sink and tap
• Secure storage for her milk, such as a locker, or space for a small cooler at her work station
Cost of Facilities
• The physical components of breastfeeding facilities are already present in workplaces that
provide space where workers can eat and wash their hands. What is needed is a creative
approach to ensure that women are assured a private place where they can relax and be
protected from interruption.
Day-care facilities
• Facilities for child care at or near the workplace allow mothers to breastfeed during breaks
in the work day.
Babies who do not breastfeed are sick more often and for longer periods than exclusively
breastfed babies. Workplace breastfeeding support programmes in the US resulted in a
28% decrease in absenteeism and a 36% drop in sick child health care costs.
In India, if an increase in exclusive breastfeeding prevented only one episode of
diarrhoea per child per year, the money saved would exceed the national budget for
child health. Lactation amenorrhea (delay of menses) is by far the top contraceptive in
the country, with a value equal to nearly half the budget for the national family
planning programme.
Support
Encouragement and support from employers, fellow workmates, and family cost nothing but
have immeasurable value for new mothers returning to work.
How to fund maternity entitlements
There are many possible ways to finance maternity entitlements. Funding can come from
compulsory social insurance schemes, just like other programs that support workers, such as
pension, disability, and unemployment benefits. Other methods include credit funds, health
fund schemes, cooperatives, and mutual benefit societies.
Supporting working women to sustain breastfeeding brings positive effects in terms of
less infant illness and less parental absenteeism, a bonus for both families and
employers.
Everyone benefits when babies are breastfed. Everyone should
share the costs.
This document was prepared by Chris Mulford, ILCA/WABA, as part of the enclosures for the Maternity Protection Campaign
kit. Produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Consultant Association (ILCA), the Linkages Project and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
(WABA), with technical assistance from International Maternal & Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University, Sweden and
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for
implementation and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements. IBFAN/GIFA, CP 157, CH-1211 Geneva 19,
Switzerland. Fax:41-22-7984443; Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Trail, Suite 102, NC Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
Tel: 919-7875181; Fax: 919-7874916; Email: info@ilca.org • IMCH, Dept of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala
University, Entrance 11, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115958; Fax: 46-18-508013 • The Linkages Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20009, USA. Tel: 202-8848000; Fax:
202-8848977; Email: linkages@aed.org; Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200,10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Fax: 604-6572655; Email: waba@streamyx.com; Website: www.waba.org.my
Publications Catalogue
Ref:G12
Ref:B14
The Breastfeeding Movement
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)
Action Folders & Posters
A Sourcebook
Compiled by Lakshmi Menon with Anwar Fazal,
Sarah Amin and Susan Siew
A Breastfeeding Perspective
A complete collection of WBW Action Folders and posters since
its inception in 1993, including the latest in the series, the 2004 —
Exclusive Breastfeeding: the Gold Standard. A must have for
breastfeeding advocates around the world. The full set would
include:
* 1993 Women, Work and Breastfeeding: Everybody Benefits
* 1994 Protect Breastfeeding: Making The Code Work
(Photocopied version only available)
* 1995 Breastfeeding: Empowering Women
“ 1996 Breastfeeding: A Community Responsibility
(Photocopied version only available)
* 1997 Breastfeeding: Nature’s Way
* 1998 Breastfeeding: The Best Investment
* 1999 Breastfeeding: Education for Life
* 2000 Breastfeeding: It’s your Right
♦ 2001 Breastfeeding in the Information Age
* 2002 Breastfeeding: Health Mothers & Healthy Babies
* 2003 Breastfeeding in a Globalised World for Peace and Justice
x 2004 Exclusive Breastfeeding: the Gold Standard and
♦ 1998-2003 Posters m full colour
This campaign kit contains relevant and concise
formation for easy use to advocate for the prot
12 Action Folders & 6 Posters US$ 20.00
history, information and documents al! in
Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, the
dedicated to the st
296 pages USS 30.00
Maternity Protection at Work
nicy protection campaign that provides practical sug
gestions for groups intending to undertake the issue
The kit is a joint publication by the Maternity Protec
tion Coalition, comprising of IBFAN, ILCA, the LINK
AGES project and WABA, with technical assistance from the International Mater
nal & Child Health, Uppsala University', Sweden and UNICEF.
USS 10.00
RefiB13
2004 - World Breastfeeding
Week Action Folder.
Exclusive Breastfeeding:
The Gold Standard
10 Folders + 2 Posters (Full Colour),
US$ 15.00
Ref:G13
The Golden Bow
Metal Pin and Bookmark
A beautifully crafted metal pin that comes
with a bookmark. The bookmark carries the
meaning of the golden bow and is hot
stamped in golden colour.
US$1.00
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals and organisations concerned with (he protection, promotion and support
of breastfeeding based on the Innocenti Declaration, the Ten Links for Nurturing the Future and the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child
Feeding. Ils core partners are International Baby Action Food Network (IBFAN), La Leche League International (LLLI), International Lactation Consultant
Association (ILCA), Wellstart International, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) and LINKAGES. WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF and an NGO
in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).
www.waba.org.my
Ref: D4
Ref: C12
WABA Activity Sheets
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
A series of 11 Activity Sheets that will assist breastfeeding
groups with their activities to protect, promote and support
breastfeeding and in particular, to provide action ideas that can
be used during World Breastfeeding Week. The full set would
include:
Global Participatory Action Research
(GLOPAR)
The GLOPAR Project was conceived by WABA in 1993 as part of a long
term effort to mobilise groups and individuals around the world to protect,
promote and support breastfeeding. This set of 3 books expounds in detail
the three key elements in action research.
1.
*Breastmilk: A World Resource * Mother-to-Mother Support for
Breastfeeding * Transforming Health Colleagues into Breastfeeding
Advocates * Breastfeeding: A Feminist Issues * Breastfeeding and
the well being of Families * Maternity LegislatiomProtecting
women’s right to breastfeed * Protection, Support and Promotion
of Breastfeeding * Training Health Workers in Breastfeeding
Management * Developing a National Report Card on Breastfeeding
* Breastfeeding and rhe Food Security * Maternity Protection:
Making it work
A full set of 11 Sheets
(Each sheet is between 4-8 pages, printed in B/W)
US$10.00
Investigating Breastfeeding: Questions,
ideas and issues to explore
A guidebook that offers local groups and researches a wealth of
ideas on what to ask, and who to ask and what to do with the
answers about the knowledge, attitudes and practices that affect
breastfeeding. (28 pages)
2.
Presenting Breastfeeding: A guide to
reporting on the state of breastfeeding in
your country
information, choose the right reporting format and how to target
information to appropriate people. (20 pages)
Action on Breastfeeding: A guide to
participatory training and participatory
learning
This guide book highlights key issues that we all face in trying to
learn, understand and apply participatory techniques in the
promotion of national breastfeeding. It has relevance for people,
not only in the field of human nutrition, but also for those
working in any area where strategic planning is needed and
where full participation of the people, the groups and the
communities which are affected are needed to ensure that
A set of 3 books, printed in B/W. US$ 20.00
Investigating
Breastfeeding:
Ref: G3
Breastfeeding
The Best Investment
This report takes a look at how
hundreds of breastfeeding advocates
from 50 countries around the globe
organised activities and campaigns to
promote breastfeeding during the
World Breastfeeding Week of 1998.
44 pages USS 8.00
www.waba.org.my
MOTHER-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE
INITIATIVE
RefiGl
Milk, Money and Madness
The Culture and Politics of
Breastfeeding
Ref: El
By Penny Van Esterik and Lakshmi Menon
Written in an easy to understand style, this guidebook
provides information and advice on how women can
combine breastfeeding while resuming work. Available
in English and French
84 pages, US$ 20.00
Ref: E2
Women’s Rights to Maternity
Protection: Information for Action
By Naomi Baumslag &
Dia L. Michels
The authors examine the issue of
breastfeeding, clearly drawing the line
between fact and fiction. They show how
a product created to help sick children
and foundlings was transformed into a powerful international
industry with revenues of USD22 million a day. They investigate
how an intimate and self-affirming life experience that is
responsible for the survival of our species has been reduced
to “just one feeding option”.
257 pages US$ 18.00
Ref: G2
Breastfeeding, Women &
Work:
The Maternity Protection Campaign
action where information is pret
is useful.
86 pages US$13.00
Ref:E3
Breastfeeding, Women & Work:
Human Rights and Creative
Solutions
1998 Philippines Workshop Report
This is a report on the advocacy efforts
of the Maternity Protection Coalition
(MPC) to ensure stronger global standards
on maternity protection. The MPC played
a significant role in both the 87'h and 88,h ILO Conference in
terms of raising public awareness and educating delegates from
the trade unions and governments on
breastfeeding and maternal health and how breastfeeding is a
right of all working women.
76 pages. US$ 10.00
Ref:G6
workshop based on the mother baby friendly
workplace initiative in Quezon City, Philippines. This
report highlights the current issues on the topic of
Breastfeeding and Women’s Work. The articles within present WABA’s position
on issues such as feminism, human rights, maternity legislation, mother and
baby-friendly workplaces, support systems, advocacy and strategies and tools
for change.
42 pages US$7.00
CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL
MATERIALS
Breastfeeding
Ref: Fl
Breastfeeding: Nature’s Way Comic Book
Healthy
Documents
Healthy Documents
y4 Sourcebook on important documents
& instruments that impact on people’s
health
Compiled by Lakshmi Menon
This book is a compilation of important
documents on people’s health made at
international meetings. It also includes international covenants,
treaties, programmes and platforms of action which support
It is an important action tool to promote people’s health, with
resolutions, declarations, charters and United Nations (UN)
instruments on health at your fingertips. It will also make a
good reference book in your resource centre.
222 pages US$20.00
WABA’s comic booklet, is a fun way for children aged
9 and above to learn how breastfeeding contributes to
a healthier child and the environment. Available in
English and French.
12 pages US$4.00
Breastfeeding:Nature’s Way Colouring Book
Illis colouring book is recommended for young
children aged four to eight. They’ll have fun
colouring the images while learning about
breastfeeding and the environment. Available in
English and French.
16 pages USS 4.00
Ref:G7
Risks, Rights and
Regulation
Communicating about Bisks andInfant
Feeding (2'"1 Edition)
By Penny Van Esterik
This book highlights the difficulties of
translating the toxicological evidence
into language that the public can understand and use, particularly
in the face of commercial interests that benefit from casting
doubts on breastfeeding.
104 pages USS 8.00
www.waba.org.my
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
Being Mother-Friendly: A Practical
Guide for Working Women and
Breastfeeding
Ref:G8
Global Initiative for Mother
Support (GIMS)
Pinking & Nurturing Mother
Support and Strengthening
Maternity Protection
Ref: G10
First Food, First Right
first fvocL
This book is a selected collection of
inspiring speeches and writings of Anwar
Fazal whose vision, ideas and strategies
for action have contributed to. WABA
becoming a movement. It serves to bring
to our consiousness that breastmilk is
human being’s first food and
breastfeeding is the first human right.
First Food, First Right will inspire readers
A Report of the GIMS Asia-Pacific
Conference 2002
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
By Anwar Fazal
'-'FIRST RIGHT
'V
Over one hundred and fifty people from
over 25 countries gathered and met in
Kuala Lumpur in 2002 to highlight good
support practices that already exist, explore new support measures,
share experiences across different cultural contexts and launch a GIMS
network in the region, that would support mothers during pregnancy,
birthing, breastfeeding and child care. This report covers the 5-day
event including all the keynote addresses, plenary sessions and
conference outcomes.
breastfeeding movement.
82 pages US$8.00
RefiGll
68 pages USS 10.00
Moving Forewords
Ref: G9
HF/ & Infant Feeding
A report of WABA-UNICEF
Colloquium
The Colloquium was held in 2002 in
Arusha, Tanzania, the first meeting
focused on HIV/AIDS and infant feeding
that brought together 165 relevant key
players in the areas of both prevention
of
mother-to-child
transmission
(PMTCT) and breastfeeding. Participants
included representatives from breastfeeding NGO’s, NGO’s working
in the areas of PMTCT, UN agencies, donor agencies, governments and
researchers in the area of HIV and infant feeding. This report covers
the 2-day event including all the keynote addresses, plenary sessions
and colloquim outcomes.
90 pages US$10.00
[MAGES
BREASTFEEDING
WORLDWIDE
r
MOVING,
By Anwar Fazal
Jnr&worcls
This book is a delightful collection of
forewords written by Anwar Fazal in 32
publications dealing with such diverse
subjects such as peace and justice,
environment, habitat, health, urbanisation
and consumer issues. These moving
forewords serve to provide strength,
courage and inspiration to help readers
move forward in social activism and make
a real difference to our world.
97 pages US$8.00
Ref: Al
Nurturing the Future
ourfirstfive years
by Sarah Amin
The birth and growth of the World
Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
(WABA) is captured beautifully in this
book. The development of such a
comprehensive network of networks,
which involves ever)’ major stream of
work to protect, promote and support
breastfeeding is explained in detail.
110 pages, US$18.00
RefiG4
Images of Breastfeeding Worldwide
For more information, please contact:
A Visual Source Book for Community Action
Compiled by Susan Siew
This book contains over 450 images from 57 countries celebrating the
diverse and rich visual expressions of breastfeeding and the special
relationship between mother and child. This collection can be used as
visual aid in communicating breastfeeding situations, processes, maternal
and child nutrition and also in classes on art, environment, society and
culture, food security, human rights, health and development issues.
184 pages USS 25.00
World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA)
P.O. Box 1200
10850 Penang
Malaysia
Tel : 604-658-4816
Fax: 604-657-6255
Email: waba @ streamyx.com
www.waba.org.my
Publications Order Fan
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
(Protects, Promotes andSupports (Breastfeeding V^orCdwide
P.O. Box 1200,10850 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: 60-4-6584816
Email: waba@streamyx.com
Quantity
Fax: 60-4-6572655
Website: www.waba.org.my
Title/Ref:
Unit Price
Amount
Total
Ordering Instructions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
All prices include postage handling and costs.
Payments should be by bank draft or cheques, drawn on a US bank, made payable to: WABA
Orders will only be fulfilled once payment is received.
Please allow 7-14 days for delivery.
For bulk orders of 50 copies or more, please contact WABA Secretariat for a special rate.
A minimum order of US$ 15.00 is encouraged to help cover airmail postage, bank charges and commission.
Name:
Organisation / Company :
Address :
Country..
Teiphone
I enclose bank draft/cheque for US$
Fax
..... I
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Date :
jl/WABA/F16/JulyO4
Maternity Protection
Campaign Kit
The
A joint publication by the Maternity Protection Coalition
with technical input from IMCH and UNICEF
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Editorial Soard
Sarah Amin (WABA Secretariat)
Blanche Bationo (IBFAN Afrique)
David Clark (UNICEF)
Suzanne Dionne (IBFAN North America)
Bobbie Jopson (Workers’ Foundation of the Philippines/
ARUGAAN Maternity Protection Programme)
Funny Kondolo (IBFAN Africa)
Chris Mulford (ILCA)
Nomajoni Ntombela (LINKAGES)
Amal Omer-Salim (IMCH)
Elaine Petitat-Cote (IBFAN Europe)
Marta Trejos (IBFAN Latin America)
Core drafting group
Sarah Amin
Chris Mulford
Amal Omer-Salim
Elaine Petitat-Cote
Main writers
Chris Mulford
Elaine Petitat-C6te
Other significant writers/contributors
Amal Omer-Salim
Sarah Amin
Editor
Lakshmi Menon, WABA
Oesign and layout
C-Square Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
Secretarial assistance/distribution
Michelle Jambu, WABA
Publisher
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)
for the
Maternity Protection Coalition
Printer
Jutaprint, Malaysia
July 2003
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Hi
Acknowledgements
“The Maternity Protection Campaign Kit: a
Breastfeeding Perspective” has been prepared by the
Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), which is
composed of the following organisations: IBFAN International Baby Food Action Network, ILCA International Lactation Consultant Association,
LINKAGES, and WABA - World Alliance for
Breastfeeding Action; with the technical support of
IMCH - International Maternal and Child Health,
Uppsala University, Sweden, and UNICEF - United
Nations Children’s Fund.
This Campaign Kit was prepared thanks to the
collaborative work of different organisations and
numerous individuals. We would like to thank all of
those who have contributed to its preparation.
In particular we thank at the ILO, Catherine Hein and
Ann Herbert, as well as Mr. Magalhaes and Rosinda
Silva who offered their legal expertise and patient
explanations, and so led us to better understand the
intricacies of ILO documents. We also thank Blanche
Bationo, Nair Carrasco, Ines Fernandez, Eva Hansen,
Vi Vien Koay, Funny Kondolo, Lida Lhotska, Alison
Linnecar, Mimi de Maza, Cecilia Muxi, Marina Rea,
Betty Sterken and Conchita Vasquez, whose
comments helped to remodel our thinking. We thank
the members of the Editorial Board who read and re
read the kit at its different stages. David Clark, in
particular, alerted us to some problems and helped to
clarify several points.
We thank IBFAN Africa and its active members whose
extensive training experiences have been integrated
into many of the sections, particularly the campaigning
section. Thomas Konig’s (AGB) thorough reading and
suggestions were particularly helpful. We also thank
Nora Wintour (Public Services International) for her
comments and the permission to print parts of the trade
unions' ratification campaign kit. Lakshmi Menon has
done a wonderful job of rewriting and editing the kit
and making it, truly, into an action tool.
Finally, we thank all the women and men in many
different walks of life, who understanding the value
of breastfeeding, are ready to advocate and campaign
for better maternity protection laws at whatever level
they can.
We are grateful to Sida (Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency), to the Church of
Sweden and to the DGIS (Netherlands Ministry of
Foreign Affairs/Directorate General for Development
Cooperation) for their financial contribution which
have enabled the production and distribution of this
campaign kit.
Sarah Amin (Penang, Malaysia)
Chris Mulford (Pennyslvania, USA)
Amal Omer-Salim (Uppsala, Sweden)
Elaine Petitat-Cote (Geneva, Switzerland)
12 May 2003
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
iv
Contents
Acknowledgements
About this Campaign Kit
A look inside the Campaign Kit
Abbreviations
SECTION 1
Introduction: Women, Work
and Breastfeeding
SECTION 2
Key Elements of Maternity Protection
at Work
Scope
Leave
Benefits
Health protection
Job protection/non-discrimination
Breastfeeding breaks
Breastfeeding facilities
SECTION 3
Intervention Instruments and Levels for
Maternity Protection at Work
International instruments, national laws,
policies and agreements
Status of maternity protection by country
SECTION 4
ILO and the Ratification Process
How the ILO functions
Conventions and Recommendations
The Ratification Process
SECTION 5
Breastfeeding: the Heart of our Matter
SECTION 6
Organising a Maternity Protection
Campaign
6a. Nine Steps to a Successful
Campaign
Step 1. Reviewing your resources
Step 2. Assessing the national situation
Step 3. Forming an action group
Step 4. Doing an in-depth national
assessment
Step 5. Working with the key partnertrade unions
Step 6. Developing a plan of action
Step 7. Carrying out the plan of action
Step 8. Monitoring and evaluating the
work accomplished
Step 9. Following up and reporting on
activities
6b) Campaign Tools
Tool 1. Rapid Assessment of Current
Status of Maternity Protection in
Zimbabwe
Tool 2. Key Questions and Methods for
Data Collection
Tool 3. Comparison and Analysis of C183
with National Laws and Practices
Tool 4. Sample Country Plan of Action Zimbabwe
Tool 5. Sample survey - maternity and
work
Tool 6. Contacting people and
organisations
Tool 7. Arguments and counter arguments
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
SECTION 7
SECTION 10
Showcasing Imaginative Legislation
Tools for Action
Extension of maternity leave: Bangladesh
Financing benefits: Australia
Financing benefits: Zimbabwe
Non-discrimination and employment
protection: Sweden
Breastfeeding breaks: Belgium
SECTION 6
Showcasing Creative Workplace
Solutions
Canada - Commitment to workplace support
Mexico - Worksite breastfeeding programme
New Zealand - Parental leave
The Philippines - Creche at workplace
SECTION 9
Resources
Select Bibliography
Directory of Key Contacts
• Texts of C183 and R191
• Text of Cl 84
• Women, Work and Breastfeeding: Everyone
Benefits! The Mother-friendly Workplace
Initiative Action Folder
• Innocenti Declaration
• Steps towards a People-friendly Workplace
• WHA Resolutions 1981-2002 (excerpts)
• UNICEF Statement to the ILO Conference
2000
• WHO Statement to the ILO Conference 2000
• Every Woman's Right to Breastfeed
• Breastfeeding: Who Benefits? Who Pays?
• Maternity Entitlements that fully support
Breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding and the Workplace
• Fourth World Conference on Women 1995,
Beijing Platform for Action
MATERNITY PROTECTIONCAAAPAJGN KIT
About this Campaign Kit
This Campaign Kit on maternity protection at the
workplace was put together by members of the
Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC).1 We have been
working together since 1998, when we met in the
Philippines to learn about the International Labour
Organization (ILO) and the revision of its Maternity
Protection Convention. In 1999 and 2000, as NGOs
(non-govemmental organisations), we followed the
debates of the ILO Committee on Maternity Protection
in Geneva. We worked closely with the international
trade unions to keep breastfeeding on ILO’s maternity
protection agenda — and in the text of the revised
Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (Cl83).
Our campaign kit adds a specific “breastfeeding”
perspective in particular the health and nutrition
perspective. It contains materials for campaigners who
may lack specific information about breastfeeding as
a maternity protection issue. It is also designed to
prepare breastfeeding advocates to better understand
the ILO Convention 183. It should assist them to
campaign for ratification of the Convention, for
stronger national legislation, or for better maternity
protection policies, for improved maternity benefits
and workplace conditions so that women are able to
continue breastfeeding and working in the best
conditions possible.
After Cl83 was adopted in 2000, the international
trade unions began campaigning for its ratification and
have already produced a C183 ratification kit,
Maternity Protection ILO Convention No. 183: a New
Standardfor a New Century published in 2001 by the
Public Services International, the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the Education
International.
The Campaign Kit is a tool for breastfeeding
advocates. The information contained in this Kit is
relevant, concise and simple to use. We hope that this
Kit is general enough to be applicable in a variety of
different situations and settings. The Kit, we hope will
not only contribute to facilitating the maternity
protection campaign but will also help develop a
country-specific campaign tool which could be used
for other campaigns. Finally we hope this Kit will also
serve to inspire breastfeeding advocates to build
alliances, influence public opinion and strengthen the
breastfeeding movement.
1 The Maternity Protection Coalition: IBFAN (International Baby Food Action Network). ILCA (International Lactation Consultant
Association), LINKAGES, WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action). With technical support from IMCH (International
Maternal and Child Health—Uppsala, Sweden) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund—New York).
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
mi
A Look inside the Campaign Kit
Section I: Introduction briefly analyses the role
Section 7: Imaginative legislation showcases
of women at work—in both the visible and the
invisible economies—and puts that role in parallel with
women’s reproductive role—defined as a social rather
than a private responsibility. In this context
breastfeeding becomes a central aspect of any
maternity protection campaign.
some notable national laws and the processes leading
to them.
Section 2: Key elements of maternity
protection explains the key features of maternity
Section 9: Resources is a select list of book titles
protection at work: scope, leave, benefits, health
protection, job protection and non-discrimination,
breastfeeding breaks, and breastfeeding facilities in
general and in relation to ILO Cl83 and R 191.
Section 3: Intervention Instruments and Levels
for Maternity Protection at Work introduces the
Section 8: Creative workplace solutions looks
at some companies that have found how providing
maternity protection can be a “win-win” situation.
and articles on the topic of maternity protection at work
and useful addresses.
Section 10: Tools for Action is a collection of
basic documents related to maternity protection,
breastfeeding and human rights.
focuses on the International Labour Organization, tells
how it works and explains the ratification process.
Pages are numbered within each section so that you
can keep your kit in the original order. Each section is
independent to facilitate making copies for handouts
whenever necessary, and also to allow you to add more
items. By adding your experiences to this kit as your
campaign develops, you can make it into your own
personalised action tool.
Section 5: Breastfeeding, the heart of our
matter explains the importance of breastfeeding. It
We hope this Campaign Kit will be a useful guide for
your campaign.
includes handouts that will be useful to raise awareness
about breastfeeding issues in general.
Good luck!
legal framework for advocacy at global/intemational,
regional, national, and local levels.
Section 4: ILO and the ratification process
Section 6: Organising a maternity protection
campaign is a step by step guide to help carry out a
successful campaign. It also includes seven action
tools to assist in the campaign.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
viii
Abbreviations
ASEAN
AU
BBF
BFHI
C3
C103
C183
C184
CBA
CEDAW
CONOSUR
CRC
ECOSOC
El
EU
GIFA
GNP
IBFAN
ICCPR
ICDC
ICESCR
Association of South East Asian
Nations
African Union
Bangladesh Breastfeeding
Foundation
Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative
ILO Maternity Protection
Convention, 1919 (No. 3)
ILO Maternity Protection
Convention, 1952 (No. 103)
ILO Maternity Protection
Convention, 2000 (No. 183)
ILO Safety and Health in
Agriculture Convention, 2001
(No. 184)
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women
Network of centres and
organisations in southern countries
of Latin America: Argentina, Brazil,
Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and
Uruguay
Convention on the Rights of the
Child
Economic and Social Council of the
United Nations
Education International
European Union
Geneva Infant Feeding Association
Gross National Product
International Baby Food Action
Network
International Covenant of Civil and
Political Rights
International Code Documentation
Centre
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions
International Lactation Consultant
Association
International Labour Office
ILO
International Labour Organisation
ILO
International Maternal and Child
IMCH
Health, Uppsala University, Sweden
MERCOSUR Common Market of the South
(Spanish acronym)
Mother-Friendly Workplace
MFWI
Initiative
Ministry of Health
MOH
MOJ
Ministry of Justice
MOL
Ministry of Labour
Memorandum of Understanding
MOU
MP
Maternity Protection at the
workplace
MPC
Maternity Protection Coalition
MPC
Maternity Protection Campaign
NAFTA
North American Free Trade
Agreement
NGO
Non-Governmental Organisation
PSI
Public Services International
R95
ILO Maternity Protection
Recommendation, 1952 (No. 95)
R191
ILO Maternity Protection
Recommendation, 2000 (No. 191)
SADC
South African Development
Community
UDHR
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
UN
United Nations
UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund
WABA
World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action
WCL
World Confederation of Labour
WHA
World Health Assembly
WHO
World Health Organization
ICFTU
ILCA
SECTION
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Introduction:
Women, Work and
Breastfeeding
Women, work and breastfeeding is a topic that has
often been set aside because of the controversies
involved and the difficulty of arriving at clear-cut
solutions. Women often find themselves pulled in two
directions between reproduction (childbearing and
breastfeeding) and production (work, paid and non
paid). Both of these are important aspects of women’s
lives and they should not have to choose between them.
Women have customarily borne the brunt of finding
ways to integrate these two aspects of their lives, with
little support from society. Maternity protection at the
workplace is one such type of support that society can
provide.
As a basic biological function, it is women who bear
babies. A woman becomes pregnant and gives birth,
and from that point on, she is a mother. Lactation, the
next and final step in the process of bearing a child, is
different from pregnancy and birth, for it is a function
that mothers can choose to continue, by breastfeeding
the baby, or to cut short, by using a substitute for
breastfeeding. The vast majority of women around the
world do breastfeed, but many women introduce other
foods and drinks prematurely, stop breastfeeding early,
or decide to use artificial substitutes instead of
breastfeeding - often because they have other work to
do (or are misled by company promotion).
Women working
Women have always worked, either within their homes
or away from homes. Today in all parts of the world,
II
women still collect, grow, and prepare food stuffs,
weave cloth and sew garments, take care of their
homes, educate their young and tend to the physical
and emotional needs of family members. These
activities generally go on outside the formal economy
and are thus “invisible”, unrecognised or unaccounted
for in national economies.
But women are also part of the visible workforce and have been for centuries. From the industrial revo
lution (1830s-1880s) onwards, their numbers have in
creased considerably, to the extent that the Interna
tional Labour Organisation (ILO) now speaks of the
“worldwide feminisation of the labour force and em
ployment.”1 And more and more women in the work
force are mothers of young children.1
2 Women work
in agriculture and fisheries, in services, in industry and
in the professions, they work in both the formal and
the informal sectors, they work in their homes and in
others’ homes, in the streets and in the markets. A few
manage to climb the professional ladder, but there
are many more in the lesser paid, and lesser-valued,
so-called “female-dominated” jobs.
Collective support for maternity
Traditional societies acknowledge the need for women
to rest after childbirth and to be supported by extended
family and neighbours. In many cultures new mothers
are assisted for approximately 40 days, during which
they attend in privacy to their own special needs and
those of the newborn infant. This period often ends
1. David, N. Worlds Apart - Women and the Global Economy, ICFTU, March 1996, p. 7.
2. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Census 1981 and Census 1991. (Quoted in Noble, S.and The ALSPAC Study Team,
“MatemaJ Employment and the Initiation of Breastfeeding”, Acta Paediatr 2001; 90: pp 423-438). In the US: 1982: 41% of working
mothers have children under one year; in 1985 the figure reached 48%. (Quoted in Barber-Madden, R., Albanese Pctschek, M., Paktcr, J.,
“Breastfeeding and the Working Mother: Barriers and Intervention Strategies”, Journal of Public Health Policy, winter 1987, pp. 531-541).
2
1. INTRODUCTION: WOMEN, WORK & BREASTFEEDING
with a celebration in which both baby and mother are
ceremonially presented to the community.
As more women have entered paid employment,
means for providing collective support for childbearing
women have been introduced in the working world.
In 1919, the very year the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) was constituted, the first ILO
Maternity Protection Convention (C3) was adopted.
It recognised that maternity is the social responsibility
of society at large and called for protection of
individual working women in their role as mothers.
Women were entitled to paid leave, to medical
assistance, to job protection as well as to breastfeeding
breaks when returning to work.
Most countries in the world today entitle women to
maternity leave and to an array of other benefits. “It
took more than three decades, several international
decisions, many resolutions and standards to recognise
that maternity is a "social function’ and not a handicap
in employment, a privilege for which working women
should not be punished on an individual basis. This
principle is the basis for introducing protective
measures, policies and legislation in a large number
of countries.”3
Maternity protection as set forth by the ILO and most
national laws has two main aims:
■ To safeguard the health of mother and child.
Pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation make extra
physical demands on women, therefore a period of
rest before and after birth without substantial loss
of income is of prime importance. When women
get paid leave it is easier for them to take time off
to rest.
■ To safeguard a woman's job, guaranteeing her the
possibility to earn an income after childbirth, and
to thus provide for herself and her child.
Breastfeeding
At the beginning of the 1950s, during the years that
women were entering the workforce in greater
numbers and sooner after childbirth, breastfeeding
rates were in decline. By the mid-’70s, in many
developed countries, the rate of breastfeeding had
dipped to shockingly low levels. Research then began
to call attention to disparities in health outcomes
between breastfeeding and artificial feeding. At the
international and national levels, advocacy was started
in an effort to curtail inappropriate marketing of infant
feeding products and to better educate and train health
workers to promote and support breastfeeding.4
One common reason not to breastfeed is because a
mother is returning to work. This is true in
industrialised countries, and increasingly in other
countries as well. Even when a mother begins
breastfeeding, her work usually interferes with her
opportunity to sustain it. Most employed mothers
require a modification of the conditions under which
they work if they are to reach the World Health
Organization’s global recommendation of six months
of exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding
until two years and beyond.5
3. International Labour Organization, Women at Work, Protection of Working Mothers: An ILO Global Survey (1964-1984), No 2, 1984,
p. 1.
“Bearing children is an important contribution to the continuation of future generations. Responsibility for maternity protection involves
more than just favouring the mother and child dyad; investing in health promotion and protection for women and children is a direct entry
point to improved social development, productivity and better quality of life.” Ibid., p. 3.
4. The WHO/LTNICEF International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes was adopted in 1981.
5. WHO. Infant and young child nutrition. Resolution WHA 54.2, May 2001, and WHO, Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child
Feeding 2002, paragraph 10. “...As a global health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of
life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive
nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years or beyond. Exclusive
breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk
production.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
To establish breastfeeding well, we believe that a
working mother needs the following:
■ Maternity leave of at least 14 weeks following
childbirth.
■ She also needs to be financially secure; her leave
must be paid leave, and the benefits should equal
her salary. She needs to know that she can return
to her job or to a similar one at the end of her leave.
■ When she returns to her work, a mother needs paid
break time and a suitable place at or near the place
of work to breastfeed her baby or express her milk
regularly;
■ She also needs to be safe from harassment or
discriminatory treatment for being a breastfeeding
mother.
The ILO’s international minimum standard of 14
weeks set out in Convention 183, provides a good
starting place for winning those modifications under
the banner of maternity protection.
Breastfeeding also falls under the heading of the
human right to food and nutrition, which is supported
by several international human rights instruments6.
Indeed, breastfeeding fulfils several other important
human rights, as it provides health protection and care
to a child as well as food. Several international
documents single out the workplace specifically as an
area where breastfeeding women should receive
protection.7 They call on governments, trade unions,
employers, employees, and women’s groups to assist
breastfeeding women in the workplace.8 9
3
Campaigning for maternity rights
The ILO, trade unions, professional associations,
women’s groups and the breastfeeding movement have
long been campaigning for maternity protection at the
workplace. They have prepared training kits,
information sheets and booklets, held meetings and
led marches. The Maternity Protection Coalition
(MPCoalition)10 fully supports this work focusing on
health and nutrition benefits of breastfeeding to both
mother and baby. Since the adoption of C183 in 2000,
the MP Coalition continues to campaign for stronger
maternity protection.
This Kit is a campaign tool: it provides information to
assist in national ratification campaigns for Cl83,
improved national legislation or better collective
bargaining agreements - always with a breastfeeding
perspective. The Maternity Protection Coalition also
supports efforts at grass-roots level, with the goal of
raising the awareness of women, their families, and
their communities about ways to support women to
combine breastfeeding and work. To accomplish these
two aims and organise campaigns that will lead to
concrete success, groups such as NGOs need to join
forces with others whose goals are similar. Allies can
be found in government, in international organisations,
in trade unions, in professional associations, in
women’s groups and the feminist movement.
This action kit aims therefore to update breastfeeding
advocates with the basic information about maternity
protection, international law and the ILO, as well
6. Such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW).
7. For example: Innocenti Declaration, 1990; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979; other
ILO Conventions.
8. Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing Platform for Action, op. cit., paragraphs 165-c, I78-d, 179-c.
9. WHO. Global Strategy.... op. cit., paragraphs 12, 28., 34,45, 46 and 48.
10. In 1998. four NGOs (non-governmental organisations) - IBFAN (International Baby Food Action Network), ILCA (International
Lactation Consultant Association), LINKAGES, and WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action) joined their strengths to create the
Maternity Protection Coalition with technical support of IMCH (International Maternal and Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden)
and of UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund).
4
1. INTRODUCTION: WOMEN, WORK & BREASTFEEDING
provide tips for successful campaigning. It also
provides detailed information on breastfeeding and
breastfeeding-related issues to the trade unions,
government and employers.
Although breastfeeding is finally a matter of individual
choice, it is incontestably the best choice for the great
majority of mothers and children. Yet there are many
people who believe that it is a cumbersome and tiring
“duty" for women already burdened with too many
other responsibilities. As breastfeeding advocates, we
uphold a woman’s right to make an informed and
supported decision about how she will feed her babies.
Work is a means of survival but also a social activity
that is liberating when it is valued, humane, decent,
and it entails some independence and empowerment.
We believe that women have the same rights as men
to a reliable and remunerative living and are entitled
to equal treatment and equal pay.
Further, we also believe that childbearing women are
entitled to maternity protection at work. Women need
safe working conditions in order for pregnancies to
develop normally and to minimise the effect of harmful
exposures on children. Women’s bodies require rest
after childbirth, and during that period, they need to
take time to adapt to the needs of their newborns.
Finally, during the vulnerable first two years of babies’
lives, mothers need to accommodate their work
schedule to support and facilitate breastfeeding and
care of the child.
The Maternity Protection Coalition is committed to
advocating for maternity protection with a
breastfeeding perspective. We hope that this Kit will
serve as a useful tool for successful campaigns.
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation
and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements.
IBFAN/GIFA, C.P. IS7,CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-798 4443 Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, I SOO Sunday Drive,
Suite 102, NC Raleigh, 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181 Fax: 919-787-4916 Email: info@ilca.org Website: www.ilca.org •
International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children's Health, Uppsala University,
University Hospital, Entrance 11, S-7SI 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115985 Fax: 46-18-508013 • The LINKAGES Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Tel: 202-884-8000
Fax:202-884-8977 Email: linkages@aed.org Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Key Elements of
Maternity Protection
at Work
Key Elements of Maternity Protection at
Work with Special Reference to ILO
Convention 183 and Recommendation 191
Maternity protection at the workplace is a legal and
social recognition of the contribution that women make
by having babies. The International Labour
Organization (ILO) first recognised the importance of
maternity protection in 1919 in its third convention
(C3). In 1952, a second ILO maternity protection
convention was adopted (C103), and in 2000 a third.
During the 20lh Century, at national level most
countries of the world have enacted maternity
protection legislation.
SCOPE
ILO Convention 183 Article 1
For the purpose of this Convention, the term woman applies
to any female person without discrimination whatsoever
and the term child applies to any child without discrimination
whatsover.
ILO Convention 183 Article 2
1)
This Convention applies to all employed women,
including those in atypical forms of dependent work.
2)
However, each Member which ratifies this Convention
may, after consulting the representative organisations
of employers and workers concerned, exclude wholly
or partly from the scope of the Convention limited
There are seven key elements to maternity protection
in general. These elements are: scope, leave, benefits,
health protection, job protection and non
discrimination, breastfeeding breaks and breastfeeding
facilities. Our goal is to have these elements
implemented as a minimum standard in national
legislation on maternity protection. Hence this section
provides the relevant text of C183 and R191 (see box)
while examining each of the seven criteria on maternity
protection.
1.
Scope: who is covered?
Maternity protection may be broad enough to cover
women in all sectors of the economy, or it may be
narrow and cover only some women. Each country
sets its own conditions for eligibility. In general the
scope tends to be narrow, exclusive rather than
inclusive.
National legislation usually covers only women who
are employed in the formal sector, that is, only those
who have entered into a formal contract of
employment and/or who have contributed to specific
categories of workers when its application to them
would raise special problems of a substantial nature.
3)
Each Member which avails itself of the possibility
afforded in the preceding paragraph, shall, in its first
report on the application of the Convention under
article 22 of the Constitution of the International
Labour Organization, list the categories of workers
thus excluded and the reasons for their exclusion. In
its subsequent reports, the Member shall describe the
measures taken with a view to progressively extending
the provisions of the Convention to these categories.
ILO Recommendation 191, Item 10
(9) Where national law and practice provide for adoption,
adoptive parents should have access to the system of
protection offered by the Convention, especially
regarding leave, benefits and employment protection.
funding such as insurance or other such schemes. In
other words, whole sectors of the economy may be
excluded, for example, women working in the private
sector, or in the informal sector, or independent
workers.
2. KEY ELEMENTS OF MATERNITY PROTECTION AT WORK
A national law may include only full-time workers,
or only women who have worked for the same
employer for a minimum length of time (qualifying
period) and who have been confirmed or made
permanent in their jobs, or those who have paid into a
benefits fund.
MATERNITY LEAVE
Cl 83, Article 4
1)
On production of a medical certificate or other
appropriate certification, as determined by national
law and practice, stating the presumed date of
childbirth, a woman to whom this Convention applies
shall be entitled to a period of maternity leave of not
Moreover, a law may be used to serve a religious, or
social agenda, or an economic purpose. Benefits may
be reserved only for mothers who are married. They
may apply only for a woman’s one or two children.
Leave or benefits could be distributed only once, every
two or three years, thus favouring women who are
able to space their pregnancies.
less than 14 weeks.
4)
With due regard to the protection of the health of the
mother and that of the child, maternity leave shall
include a period of six weeks' compulsory leave after
childbirth, unless otherwise agreed at the national
level by the government and the representative
organisations of employers and workers.
It should be a top priority to examine the possibilities
of extending maternity protection to women in the
informal sector, as they generally do not enjoy any
formal maternity protection. Informal workers
constitute a large proportion of the workers in many
countries (up to 80%). Most of them are women who
run their own small businesses or work for micro
enterprises, for example, selling food, tea, or
vegetables in a market stall, or sewing garments in
sweat shops. In general these enterprises and jobs are
not officially registered, and workers have no (or very
few) entitlements. These women work under harsh
conditions with meagre earnings, often in temporary
and seasonal activities, with little or no job security
and no health or financial benefits. They are most often
not organised, and as a consequence they lack most
forms of protection.
The same can be said of rural women who work in the
fields as farm labourers or farmers and who toil long
hours doing back breaking work. Although women in
agricultural work are technically not part of the
informal sector they suffer the same work conditions.
Maternity protection has hardly any meaning for these
women even where legislation exists. However in 2001
Cl84 on Safety and Health in Agriculture was
adopted by ILO to protect men and women in
agriculture. Article 18 of C 184 states: “Measures shall
be taken to ensure that the special needs of women
agricultural workers are taken into account in relation
to pregnancy, breastfeeding and reproductive health”.
R191, hem 1: Maternity Leave
(1)
Members should endeavour to extend the period of
maternity leave referred to in Article 4 of the
Convention to at least 18 weeks.
(2)
Provision should be made for an extension of the
maternity leave in the event of multiple births.
(3)
To the extent possible, measures should be taken to
ensure that the women is entitled to choose freely the
time at which she takes any non-compulsory portion
of her maternity leave, before or after childbirth.
Though the scope of Cl83 is wider than that of the
previous maternity protection conventions, it still
effectively excludes women working in agriculture and
in the informal sector who do not benefit from work
contracts. In some cases these workers organise on
their own or in conjunction with existing trade unions
or even with their governments. Some have set up
credit funds, co-operatives, and mutual benefit
societies. Organising/unionising women in the
informal sector is central to facilitating long term
improvements in their working conditions.
2.
Leave: a period of absence from the job
Leave is the most common benefit provided for
maternity protection. It may be fully paid leave, unpaid
leave or partially paid leave. Where women do not
get paid leave it may be difficult for the family to
manage financially without the mother’s usual
earnings. Thus, for most women, the length of leave
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
LEAVE IN CASE OF ILLNESS OR COMPLICATIONS
C183, Article 5
On production of a medical certificate, leave shall be
3
child. A longer leave allows the mother to rest and to
provide care for her child. It gives her more time to
work through breastfeeding challenges and establish
a routine.
provided before or after the maternity leave period in the
case of illness, complications or risk of complications arising
out of pregnancy or childbirth. The nature and the
maximum duration of such leave may be specified in
accordance with national law and practice.
R191, Item 10: Related Types of Leave
(1)
In the case of death of the mother before the expiry
of postnatal leave, the employed father of the child
Length of leave varies from country to country.
Differences are considerable, running from
approximately eight weeks in many countries to one
year or more in a very few. Worldwide, the typical
maternity leave ranges from 12to 14 weeks. For details
see Chart Status of Maternity Protection by Country
(Section 3b).
should be entitled to take leave of a duration equal
to the unexpired portion of the postnatal maternity
leave.
(2)
In the case of sickness or hospitalisation of the mother
after childbirth and before the expiry of postnatal
leave, and where the mother cannot look after the
child, the employed father of the child should be
Women in general, and their allies such as the trade
unions, tend to favour a clearly defined relatively long
paid leave. On the other hand, employers seem to
favour supplementing a short maternity leave with
annual leave, sick leave, disability leave, personal
leave, or vacation.
entitled to leave of a duration equal to the unexpired
portion of the postnatal maternity leave, in
accordance with national law and practice, to look
after the child.
(3)
The employed mother or the employed father of the
child should be entitled to parental leave during a
period following the expiry of maternity leave.
(4)
The period during which parental leave might be
granted, the length of the leave and other modalities,
When should leave be taken? Some laws specify that
a portion should be allocated before the mother’s due
date so that she is well rested before giving birth. Many
laws (including Cl 83) impose “compulsory leave,”
of six weeks, following the birth1, so as to prevent
anyone from forcing a woman back to work before
she has recovered, at least minimally.
including the payment of parental benefits and the
use and distribution of parental leave between the
employed parents, should be determined by national
laws or regulations or in any manner consistent with
national practice.
taken is closely connected to the amount of funds they
are entitled to. Other considerations may include a
woman’s career path, because while she is absent she
might miss opportunities for advancement or lose
specific skills.
Purpose of maternity leave, taken both before and
after birth, is to safeguard the health of mother and
In many countries women object to being told how to
take their leave, and progressive laws tend to let
women partly decide for themselves. Mothers-to-be
can choose to work until confinement if they so desire
and employers cannot force them to take leave before
their due date. On the other hand, mothers who do
choose to take leave before delivery are entitled to it
by law and employers have to comply with this request.
After confinement, mothers are under the obligation
to take at least six weeks leave and no one, not even
the woman herself can change this. When they are
left to choose, most mothers tend to work as close as
possible to delivery and to take as long a leave as
possible after giving birth.
1. It lakes an average of six weeks for women’s bodies to return to normal after delivery; this is why caregivers schedule a postnatal check
up six weeks or 40 days after birth.
2. KEY ELEMENTS OE MATERNITY PROTECTION AT WORK
4
Related types of leave are often included in discussions
about maternity protection. In many countries, one to
14 days of paternity leave are granted to new fathers
who thus can directly participate when their baby is
born, and care for mother, baby, and any other
dependent members of the household.
Adoption leave is similar to maternity or paternity
leave. It allows workers who become parents through
adoption to enjoy the same job-protected leave as
people who give birth.
BENEFITS
In most countries that offer parental leave, it is
available to both parents, although a portion of the
leave may be assigned specifically to the father or to
the mother. In many cases parental leave is gender
neutral, which protects both parents from
discrimination and gives fathers the opportunity of
increasing their involvement with the care of their
children. The length of leave may be as short as three
months or as long as three years; or it may offer the
option of part-time work for some years. In general it
is unpaid or only partially paid, but it does guarantee
that the parent can return to the same job or a similar
one.
1)
Medical benefits shall be provided for the woman
7)
and her child in accordance with national laws and
Cl 83, Article 6
regulations or in any other manner consistent with
Cash benefits shall be provided, in accordance with
Medical benefits shall include
national laws and regulations, or in any other manner
national practice.
consistent with national practice, to women who are
prenatal, childbirth and postnatal care, as well as
absent from work on leave referred to in Articles 4 or
hospitalization care when necessary.
5.
2)
3)
Cash benefits shall be at a level which ensures that
R 191, item 2 & 3: Benefits
the woman can maintain herself and her child in
(2)
Where practicable, and after consultation with the
proper conditions of health and with a suitable
representative organizations of employers and
standard of living.
workers, the cash benefits to which a woman is entitled
Where, under national law or practice, cash benefits
during leave referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of the
paid with respect to leave referred to in Article 4 are
Convention should be raised to the full amount of
based on previous earnings, the amount of such
the woman's previous earnings or of such of those
benefits shall not be less than two-thirds of the
earnings as are taken into account for the purpose
woman's previous earnings or of such of those
of computing benefits.
earnings as are taken into account for the purpose
4)
of computing benefits.
To the extent possible, the medical benefits provided for
Where, under national law or practice, other methods
in Article 6, paragraph 7, of the Convention should include:
are used to determine the cash benefits paid with
a)
respect to leave referred to in Article 4, the amount
resulting on average from the application of the
general practitioner or a specialist;
b)
preceding paragraph.
5)
or other medical establishment;
c)
majority of the women to whom this Convention
applies.
6)
medical practitioner or other qualified person;
regulations or in any other manner consistent with
means test required for such assistance.
any necessary pharmaceutical and medical
supplies, examinations and tests prescribed by a
qualify for cash benefits under national laws and
benefits out of social assistance funds, subject to the
maintenance in a hospital or other medical
establishment;
d)
Where a woman does not meet the conditions to
national practice, she shall be entitled to adequate
maternity care given by a qualified midwife or by
another maternity service at home or in a hospital
Each Member shall ensure that the conditions to
qualify for cash benefits can be satisfied by a large
care given in a doctor's office, at home or in a
hospital or other medical establishment by a
of such benefits shall be comparable to the amount
and
e)
dental and surgical care.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Family leave broadens the focus even more than
parental leave. It specifies leave that can be taken to
care for any family member, such as a spouse, older
child, or infirm parent. When campaigning, it may be
easier to enlist support among workers for family
leave, since almost every worker will need to use it at
some point in his or her lifetime.
3. Benefits: medical care during
pregnancy, confinement, and recovery,
plus income replacement during leave
Medical benefits are intended to protect the health of
both mother and baby by ensuring that women receive
necessary maternity services that may be free or
partially free of charge. This usually includes a certain
number of visits to health professionals, a health care
facility, and visits following birth, as well as any
necessary prescribed medication. Some of the costs
are covered by the national health insurance plan.
Where social security is not provided, some women
contribute to local health schemes or private insurance
that cover some of the costs of maternity. But many
women who lack maternity protection are not covered
at all and they have to pay for all of these services.
Women who cannot afford to pay for medical
assistance may not get any prenatal care and they may
give birth without adequate professional supervision.
Cash benefits replace some or all of the earnings a
mother loses by being on leave. Ideally, the amount
of cash benefits is supposed to be sufficient to provide
a “suitable standard of living for mother and child”.
Without cash benefits, many women cannot even
afford to take time after giving birth to rest and recover,
not to mention time to establish breastfeeding. This
problem is acute in the informal sector where most
women earn very low salaries and/or are not included
in insurance schemes.
Who pays for benefits?
It is one thing to accept collective responsibility as a
principle, and quite another thing to actually provide
the money. The question of how to finance maternity
benefits is hotly debated. One way to finance maternity
benefits is from a public insurance fund, usually
FINANCING BENEFITS
C 183, Article 6
8)
In order to protect the situation of women in the labour
market, benefits in respect of the leave referred to in
Articles 4 and 5 shall be provided through compulsory
social insurance or public funds, or in a manner
determined by national lav/ and practice. An employer
shall not be individually liable for the direct cost of
any such monetary benefit to a woman employed by
him or her without that employer's specific agreement
except where:
(a) such is provided for in national law or practice in
a Member State prior to the date of adoption of
this Convention by the International Labour
Conference; or
(b) it is subsequently agreed at the national level by
the government and the
representative
organizations of employers and workers.
R191, Item 4:
Any contribution due under compulsory social insurance
providing maternity benefits and any tax based upon
payrolls which is raised for the purpose of providing such
benefits, whether paid by both the employer and the
employees or by the employer, should be paid in respect
of the total number of men and women employed, without
distinction of sex.
provided through a social security system. This method
shares the costs broadly. But in many countries, the
system of public financing is not yet well developed.
Other needs, such as retirement funds/pension,
disability pay, or unemployment benefits, compete
with maternity protection benefits and are often given
higher priority.
In countries where any kind of social security or social
insurance systems are not well developed, employers
are sometimes required to pay the woman’s salary
while she is on leave. This may act as a disincentive
to hiring women, or to continuing to employ them if
they become pregnant. In other systems, employers
and workers share the burden by contributing to an
insurance scheme.
2. KEY ELEMENTS OF MATERNITY PROTECTION AT WORK
6
HEALTH PROTECTION
Cl 83, Article 3:
Each Member shall, after consulting the representative
organisations of employers and workers, adopt appropriate
measures to ensure that pregnant or breastfeeding women
are not obligated to perform work which has been
determined by the component authority to be prejudicial
to the health of the mother or the child, or where an
4. Health protection: protection for
women and their babies from hazards
in the workplace
Pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period are a
time of increased health risks for both mother and
child. In some developing countries, the lifetime risk
of maternal mortality can be as high as one woman
out of 23.
assessment has established a significant risk to the mother's
health or that of her child.
R191, Item6
(1)
Members should take measures to ensure assessment
of any workplace risks related to the safety and health
of the pregnant or nursing woman and her child. The
results of the assessment should be made available
to the woman concerned.
(2)
In any of the situations referred to in Article 3 of the
Convention or where a significant risk has been
identified under subparagraph (1) above, measures
should be taken to provide, on the basis of a medical
certificate as appropriate, an alternative to such work
The workplace can expose a woman to conditions that
are hazardous for her pregnancy or her baby. Hazards
include possible exposure to toxic substances, to
infectious agents, to radiation, vibrations, stress, and
risks of injury. National laws generally protect a
pregnant or breastfeeding worker from being obliged
to do work in conditions that risk her health or her
child’s health. Occupational safety and health
regulations can require employers to make the job safer
or to provide another work setting at the same rate of
pay during the period of maternity protection.
in the form of:
a)
elimination of risk;
b)
an adaptation of her conditions of work;
c)
a transfer to another post, without loss of pay,
when such an adaptation is not feasible; or
d)
paid leave, in accordance with national laws,
regulations or practice, when such a transfer is
not feasible.
(3)
Measures referred to in subparagraph (2) should in
particular be taken in respect of:
a)
arduous work involving the manual lifting, carrying,
pushing or pulling of loads;
b)
work involving exposure to biological, chemical
or physical agents which represent a reproductive
health hazard;
c)
d)
work requiring special equilibrium;
work involving physical strain due to prolonged
periods of sitting or standing, Io extreme
temperatures, or Io vibration.
(4)
Maternity protection laws safeguard maternal and
child health in ways that go beyond minimising
harmful exposures at the workplace. The laws protect
women’s and children’s health by assuring that women
get prenatal care, by covering the medical costs of
delivery, by providing paid maternity leave for
recovery from childbirth, and by supporting sustained
breastfeeding after mothers return to work.
A pregnant or nursing woman should not be obliged
5. Job protection and non-discrimination:
holding a woman’s job or a job at the
same level to which she can return after
leave; forbidding discrimination on the
grounds of maternity
Job protection and non-discrimination are central to
equality of treatment and equality of opportunity for
men and women.
to do night work if a medical certificate declares such
work to be incompatible with her pregnancy or
nursing.
(5)
The woman should retain the right to return to her
job or an equivalent job as soon as it is safe for her
to do so.
(6)
A woman should be allowed to leave her workplace,
if necessary, after notifying her employer, for the
purpose of undergoing medical examinations relating
to her pregnancy.
.Job protection ensures that women who take
maternity leave or medical leave for reasons related
to the pregnancy will regain their posts when they
return to work. They are entitled to the same salary
and level of responsibility. During leave, they will have
accumulated seniority and other related benefits. In
other words, concerning their job, they are not placed
at a disadvantage relative to other workers who have
not had to cope with the demands of childbearing.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION AND
NON-DISCRIMINATION
Cl83, Article 8:
1)
It shall be unlawful for an employer to terminate the
employment of a woman during her pregnancy or
7
discrimination in relation to women who do not have
children as well as in relation to men. Without
protection from discrimination, breastfeeding women
could even find themselves at a disadvantage in
relation to other mothers who are not breastfeeding.
absence on leave referred to in Articles 4 or 5 or
during a period following her return to work to be
prescribed by national laws or regulations, except on
grounds unrelated to the pregnancy or birth of the
6. Breastfeeding breaks: time provided
for breastfeeding or expressing milk
during the work day
child and its consequences or nursing. The burden
of proving that the reasons for dismissal are unrelated
BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS
to pregnancy or childbirth and its consequences or
Cl 83, Article 10:
nursing shall rest on the employer.
2)
1)
A woman is guaranteed the right to return to the same
more daily breaks or a daily reduction of hours of
position or an equivalent position paid at the same
rate at the end of her maternity leave.
A woman shall be provided with the right to one or
work to breastfeed her child.
2)
The period during which nursing breaks or the
reduction of daily hours of work are allowed, their
R191, hem 5:
(1)
number, the duration of nursing breaks and the
A woman should be entitled to return to her former
procedures for the reduction of daily hours of work
position or an equivalent position paid at the same
shall be determined by national law and practice.
rate at the end of her leave referred to in Article 5 of
These breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work
the Convention. The period of leave referred to in
shall be counted as working time and remunerated
Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention should be
accordingly.
considered as a period of service for the determination
of her rights.
R191, Items 7 and 8
(7)
Worldwide, most laws protect women who are
pregnant, who return from maternity leave, or who
are breastfeeding, from any/or being transferred to a
lower position, isolation, or being passed over for job
advancement opportunities.
On production of a medical certificate or other
appropriate certification as determined by national
law and practice, the frequency and length of nursing
breaks should be adapted to particular needs.
(8)
Where practicable and with the agreement of the
employer and the woman concerned, it should be
possible to combine the time allotted for daily nursing
Discrimination applies to differentiating workers
adversely on the basis of their age, creed, race or sex.
In this case, it could mean not wanting to hire a young
woman because she may become pregnant. Non
discrimination means therefore that women who are
pregnant or who may become pregnant should be
considered for employment on an equal basis with
others, men or women. Employers should not be
allowed to require a pregnancy test or proof of
sterilisation as a condition of employment, nor should
they be allowed to question a job applicant about her
plans for childbearing. However, not all laws cover
this important aspect.
This is more than an issue of gender discrimination,
for childbearing women can be subject to
breaks to allow a reduction of hours of work at the
beginning or at the end of the working day.
Since 1919, ILO maternity protection conventions
have included breastfeeding breaks or “nursing
breaks”. Most national laws (more than 90 countries)
provide breastfeeding breaks in some form.
The issues concerning breastfeeding breaks are
a) the number of nursing breaks allowed in a given
time period
b) their frequency and length
c) the length of time after birth that a worker may
take nursing breaks
d) whether breaks are paid or unpaid
e) whether breaks are counted as working time, and
8
2. KEY ELEMENTS OF MATERNITY PROTECTION AT WORK
whether a worker loses income because she takes secure storage space for milk that has been expressed.
nursing breaks—for instance, a worker who is paid It needs to be located near enough to the workers that
by the piece, not by the hour, or who earns a bonus use it, so their limited break time is not wasted in travel.
More elaborate facilities might offer a refrigerator or
based on productivity.
an electric outlet for an electric pump. A worker who
In general, women are entitled to two 30-minute breaks lacks facilities has to choose between two unhealthy
per day in every eight-hour working day for a period alternatives: weaning her baby too soon, or
of approximately six to 12 months. In some countries breastfeeding/expressing milk in unsanitary conditions
it is possible to combine them and take them at the at the workplace.
beginning or end of the work day. This practice
shortens the total time a woman must spend away from Childcare is an issue that is closely related to
her baby. This option may be more feasible in breastfeeding facilities. One solution to the challenge
situations where the mother’s workplace is far from of sustaining breastfeeding after returning to work is
where her baby is and transport is problematic.
for mothers to have a creche (nursery) at or near the
workplace. Several nations have maternity protection
In 2001 and again in 2002, the World Health Assembly laws that require employers to provide a creche if they
recommended as a public health policy, that babies have more than a minimum number of female workers.
be exclusively breastfed for six months, and that they However many women are unable or unwilling to
continue to breastfeed until age two years or more, bring the babies to their work places as they have to
with timely introduction of locally prepared expose them to the ordeal of crowded public transport,
indigenous complementary foods. Thus, for the fumes and unfavourable weather conditions.
majority of mothers, who return to work after a
maternity leave of less than six months, and for those Seven parts make up the whole
who have hardly any leave at all, breastfeeding breaks It is important for breastfeeding advocates to
or reduction of work hours are essential to the understand and promote all seven of the maternity
protection criteria. It will enable them to propose and
maintenance of exclusive breastfeeding.
defend strong maternity protection legislation that
7. Breastfeeding facilities: a place where a protects all working women. At the same time, it is
worker can feed her baby or express her
important for others to realise that breastfeeding is
milk
the final stage in a woman’s reproductive cycle, and
as such, it is not just a “feeding option”, but an intrinsic
BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS
part of maternity protection at work. Its successful
R191, Item 9:
completion is influenced by what happens to the
Where practicable, provision should be made
mother in the earlier stages of reproduction for the establishment of facilities for nursing under
pregnancy and childbirth. Thus, her economic security,
adequate hygienic conditions at or near the
her stress level, the information she receives during
prenatal care, her exposure to health risks, the support
workplace.
she receives from her family and co-workers will
Many people assume that breastfeeding facilities must influence her capacity to bear a healthy child and
be complicated to set up, expensive, and hardly breastfeed adequately.
worthwhile given the number of workers likely to use
them. The truth is quite different.
When breastfeeding advocates take an active role in
promoting all the elements of maternity protection,
At the minimum, a breastfeeding facility is a small, other people will be more likely to listen and
clean space with a chair. There is a screen, curtain, or understand that breastfeeding should be on everyone’s
door for privacy, access to clean running water, and agenda.
f)
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
SECTION
Intervention Instruments
and Levels for Maternity
Protection at Work
kJ
You can advocate for maternity protection in the
workplace at many levels. This section looks at several
different levels of intervention - the global, the regional,
the national and the local level to help you see where
your campaign fits into the bigger picture. You will try
to influence the level where you are campaigning. At
level. It may be to influence trade unions and employers
to come up with policies and agreements supporting
maternity protection. In all cases, a basic element of
advocacy is raising awareness to ensure that workers and
employers know their rights and responsibilities under
the law.
the same time, your campaign may also be influenced
by events at other levels.
1.
The four levels at which intervention can be made relate
support a woman’s right to breastfeed. Some call for
to international instruments, regional agreements,
national laws and workplace policies and regulations.
connection with employment. The following are some
Each country is sovereign and develops laws based on
of these international instruments:
Global level
i) International instruments: directly or indirectly
specific measures to safeguard breastfeeding in
its own cultural, social, economic and political situation.
Within a state, these laws are the minimum acceptable
•
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
standard.
•
1948
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
However, when a state chooses to adopt or ratify an
•
Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
•
(ICCPR), 1966
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
international instrument, for instance by ratifying an ILO
Convention or by enacting a regional directive, it must
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979
bring its national laws into conformity with that
•
International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk
Substitutes, 1981
•
Within the country, regulations and legislation adopted
Subsequent relevant WHA resolutions, 1982, 1984,
1986,1988,1990,1992,1994,1996,2001, including
can be stronger than the national standard, but they can
not be weaker. Therefore, legislation adopted in a specific
Child Feeding)
instrument. A national law can nevertheless be stronger
than an international agreement.
in 2002 (the Global Strategy on Infant and Young
•
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989
as workplace policies and regulations instituted by a
•
Innocenti Declaration, 1990
company or an employer at local level, or collective
•
Beijing Platform for Action, 1995.
municipality, district or province, for example, as well
bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated in a specific
workplace, throughout a company, must all meet the
ii) ILO Conventions and Recommendations:
minimum standards set in a national law. In fact, they
can be stronger than the national law. They often are,
acting as a model, that is later adopted as national
legislation
Conventions set minimum labour standards. A country
Your intervention may be to campaign at the international
that ratifies a Convention is bound to follow it under
international law. Recommendations give detailed
guidelines or suggest higher standards.
level for instruments that relate to maternity protection
Maternity
Protection
Conventions
Recommendations include the following:
and for ratification of these instruments by national
•
governments. Or it may be to formulate and enact
•
•
improved maternity protection legislation at the national
•
R95, 1952
C183,2000
•
R191.2000
C103, 1952 (no longer open for ratification)
C3, 1919
and
3. INTERVENTION INSTRUMENTS AND LEVELS FOR MATERNITY PROTECTION AT WORK
2
•
are numerous other Conventions/
Recommendations which directly or indirectly deal
There
with maternity protection at the workplace.
leave at 80 per cent salary as in Italy or it may cover
both parents for 16 months as in Sweden, where it is
called “parental leave.” For more details see the chart
Status of Maternity Protection by Country.
2.
Regional Level
Regional directives and arrangements: In many parts
ii) Collective bargaining agreements or CBAs are the
of the world, nations have formed regional political and
economic alliances or other forms of agreements (see
below). Both regional policies and trade agreements
result of collective bargaining between trade unions and
employers. These written agreements are generally short
influence or in some cases determine, national rules for
working conditions and treatment of workers, so they
should be examined carefully, e.g. IBFAN Africa works
term (a few months to a few years) but may be renewed
after their expiry. Maternity protection elements such as
the right to exemption from night duty or the
establishment of a breastfeeding facility may be included.
with SADC Employment and Labour sector to improve
A CBA contains all the terms and conditions of
maternity protection at that level.
employment that have been agreed to between the trade
union representatives and the management and often go
•
•
•
AU - African Union
CONOSUR - network of centres and organisations
beyond the conditions provided for by national
legislation, thereby setting a precedent. A collective
agreement is legally binding. It deals with “the rights
ASEAN - Association of South East Asian Nations
in southern countries of Latin America: Argentina,
and responsibilities of 1) management, 2) workers and
Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
3) the union, and must be fair and reasonable to all
•
•
EU - European Union
MERCOSUR - Common Market of the South
parties.”1
•
NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement
SADC - Southern Africa Development Community.
CBAs can be negotiated at national or at local level.
•
3.
National Level
CBAs may include:
• Agreements that affect an entire sector or profession
• Agreements between a specific union and an
i) National laws and regulations: Maternity protection
employer or a group of employers
laws may be found under many headings, including
Labour, Women, Occupational Health or Gender Equity.
•
Legislation may be drafted at various levels:
4.
•
•
National or federal
State, district, province, canton
• Local, i.e. municipality, community
In all cases they have to comply with the national
minimum standard.
Most countries in the world provide for maternity
protection legislation in one form or another. However,
maternity protection may also exist in the form of national
labour code, or the health insurance regulation, or the
Agreements for a specific workplace.
Local Level
i) Workplace Policies: Policies and regulations are
specific to a given workplace, firm or group. In the case
of multinational corporations, policies tend to differ from
country to country, from one plant to another. The details
of maternity leave, protection, benefits and workplace
facilities should be found in regulations that are
accessible to workers and their representatives and they
have to comply with national law. Regulations can be:
•
Agreements for a specific workplace
•
Agreements for a specific firm or corporation.
civil code, or as policies to protect pregnant workers and
new mothers. Thus, maternity legislation may be the
responsibility of a number of ministries (e.g. ministry of
labour, social affairs, health, industry, agriculture or the
ministry of women’s affairs).
The vast majority of countries provide fotpaid maternity
ii) Community-based programmes: These are also
specific to a given workplace, firm or factory. They are
usually undertaken after an agreement or contract made
between the employer and non-governmental
organisations or community based groups. These
programmes may include workers’ education,
only for mothers as in Lebanon or Mozambique. At the
conducting awareness programmes on health, maternity
protection, C 183, breastfeeding, or setting up and
other extreme, it may provide five months of maternity
managing creches at a workplace, etc.
leave. Paid leave may be as short as eight weeks and
1. PSI Education Department, An Introduction to Collective Bargaining, n.d., p. 4.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
ILO and the
Ratification Process
How the ILO Functions
The International Labour Organization (ILO) seeks
peace and justice and aims to create a socially stable
climate in which the wealth that is produced by
workers benefits them as well as their employers. Since
its foundation in 1919, the ILO has sought to improve
the conditions of labour for workers worldwide.
To meet this goal, the ILO by means of Conventions
and Recommendations, establishes minimum
international standards for basic labour rights such as
“freedom of association, the right to organise,
collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour,
equality of opportunity and of treatment” and many
others. Moreover, the ILO offers technical assistance
to help countries realise these aims.
The ILO is the only United Nations agency with
tripartite structure, in which the governments
(“Member States”), the workers and the employers
negotiate together on an equal basis. Thus, the
standards that are set by the ILO reflect a balance
among the interests of labour, employers, and
government.
Conventions and Recommendations
Negotiation leading to the final text of a Convention
can take several years. A Convention is a minimum
standard. Once it is ratified by a Member State, a
Convention is binding on that state under international
law, which means that the country’s laws must be
brought into conformity with the Convention. If a
Member State that has ratified a Convention later
modifies its legislation, it cannot go below the
minimum standard of the Convention.
Recommendations are not open for ratification, and
therefore are not binding. They provide further details
or give guidelines for setting higher standards that go
beyond the minimum standards set in the Conventions
- in other words, they provide a certain direction
towards improvement.
Once a Convention is adopted by the ILO General
Conference, it is open for ratification by all Member
States. A Convention enters into force only one year
after two Member States have ratified it.
The ratification process is lengthy and it can take
several years for a Member State to decide to ratify,
or not to ratify a Convention. After a Member State
ratifies a Convention, it has to adapt its national
legislation to meet the (generally higher) level of the
Convention provisions, and then implement them at
the national level.
Since 1919 there have been three ILO maternity
protection Conventions (C3, 1919; C103,1952; and
Cl83, 2000) and two Recommendations (R95, 1952
and R191,2000). C183, came into force on 7 February
2002, one year after the second ratification by a
Member State (Italy). By May 2003 it had been ratified
by four countries: Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria and
Romania.
Cl83 supercedes C103 - Maternity Protection
Convention (Revised), 1952 which is now closed for
new ratifications, although it continues to apply to
those countries that have already ratified Cl03 and
have not ratified C 183.
4. ILO AND THE RATIFICATION PROCESS
Ratification Process of ILO Conventions
7) Submission to the “competent national
authorities ”
Once an ILO Convention/Recommendation has been
adopted by the International Labour Conference, the
instrument is sent to all Member States for
consideration. The ILO Constitution requires that the
instrument be sent to the representatives of the national
organisations of employers and of workers as well as
to the governments.
In some cases, the ILO instruments may be translated
by a Member State into the national language, if the
national language is not one of the official UN
languages.
The ILO Constitution requires that Member States (in
consultation with representatives of employers’ and
workers’ organisations, and in some cases other
relevant government institutions) submit the
instruments to the “competent national authorities” for
the enactment of legislation or other actions, including
possible ratification. The competent authority is
normally the national Parliament, Legislative
Assembly or Congress. This procedure is more
complicated for federal states, but the ILO Constitution
has instructions to be followed in such cases.
The principle of submission is an important one
because it aims at making the contents of the ILO
instruments known to the public, to raise awareness
and stimulate public debate and involvement in
important labour and social matters. ILO instruments
have a “normative value” on national attitudes and
policies because they represent the accepted
international standards. This means that whether or
not a Convention is ratified by the country, it serves a
purpose by being available as a model that has already
been agreed upon by the tripartite partners at the ILO.
When a government (normally the Ministry of Labour)
finally submits the instruments to the competent
authorities, it is expected to indicate what action it
considers desirable. There are at least four possible
scenarios:
• The government may indicate that the instrument
is already fully implemented in national law and
practice, and therefore it can be ratified.
• It may recommend the enactment of legislation to
give effect to the provisions of the instrument.
• It may recommend that ratification be postponed
to give more time for consultations or studies.
• Or, it may recommend that the Convention should
not be ratified.
Within one year of the adoption of the instruments (or
at the latest within 18 months), Member States are
required to complete this submission and report back
to the Director General of the ILO in extensive detail,
telling what they have done and the actions taken by
the competent national authorities. In the case of C183,
the deadline for this submission was December 2001.
The outline of the report to the ILO is staled in a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The
government must also indicate which employers’ and
workers’ organisations have been given copies of the
report.
2) If a Member State decides to ratify
When a Member State ratifies the Convention, it agrees
to two important things:
• It accepts to implement the Convention. Thus,
national legislation must be reviewed vis-a-vis
the provisions of the Convention. A country that
ratifies is not allowed to pick and choose parts of
the Convention as it wishes. In the long term, all
of the provisions must be applied in national law
and practice. The text of Cl 83 is quite flexible and
allows for various options at the levels of “national
law and practice.”
• It must report at regular intervals to the
supervisory mechanisms of the ILO. The
regulatory supervisory machinery of the ILO comes
into force 12 months after the Director General of
the ILO has been notified of the ratification. In the
case of Cl83, the Committee of Experts on the
Application of Conventions and Recommendations
(CEACR) is responsible for supervision.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Governments may request information, clarification
or any other assistance from the International Labour
Secretariat in the procedures related to the ratification
process.
3
EXAMPLE OF A COUNTRY CONSIDERING
RATIFICATION: GHANA
Submission of on ILO Convention to the Competent
In Member States where national laws go beyond the
provisions of the new Convention, there may be a
concern that national laws will be watered down to
conform to the new provisions. ILO standards are
minimum standards and as stated in Article 19 of the
ILO Constitution, under no circumstances can a
Member State whose legislation goes beyond a
Convention’s provisions weaken its national laws
once it has ratified the Convention.1
Notional Authorities in Ghana
1.
ILO Cl 83 is adopted in Geneva (June 2000) and
countries are notified that it is open for ratification.
2.
In Ghana, an officer at the Ministry of Labour (MOL)
prepares a memo for a consultative meeting of
Government, Workers, Employers, & Civil Society.
3.
The tripartite meeting is held; it includes civil society
groups.
4.
The Officer from MOL reports to the Minister of
Labour about the meeting, and the Minister reports
After ratification, the Convention is valid in that
Member State for a period of at least 10 years. After
this period, the State may denounce the Convention if
it wishes. This is an extremely rare practice.
to the Cabinet to inform the other ministers.
5.
Ministry of Justice or Attorney General conducts a
legal review, to get the issue ready for Parliament.
6.
A select Parliamentary Committee on Labour issues
discusses the ILO instrument and prepares a
3) If a Member State takes no action
The Committee of Experts will remind the Member
State of its obligation to submit the ILO instrument to
the competent authorities. A first reminder is sent out
12 months after the closing of the ILO Conference
session. A second reminder is sent out after 18 months
have elapsed.
preliminary report.
7.
8.
For further information please see the Handbook of
Procedures relating to international labour
Conventions and Recommendations on the following
website:
http:/www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/norm//
Legal and Internal Desk at Labour Ministry reviews
legal aspects.
9.
10.
Attorney General finalises legal document.
Sector Ministry (Labour) finalises report according to
guideline (includes feasibility of ratification).
11.
4) If a Member State chooses not to ratify the
Convention
After the state has submitted the instrument to its
competent national authorities, the Governing Body
of the ILO may request the state to report at appropriate
intervals, showing the impediments to ratification that
exist at the level of national law and practice.
Parliament debates, approves and votes on
preliminary report.
Report is submitted to ILO.
The following country example highlights the potential
role and impact of civil society organisations in the
early stages of the ratification process.
For more information concerning the ILO, ratification
of Conventions and texts of Conventions refer to the
ILO website: www.ilo.org
sources/handbook/hb3.htm
1. ILO Constitution Art. 19.8: “In no case shall the adoption of any Convention or Recommendation by the Conference, or the ratification of
any Convention by any Member, be deemed to affect any law, award, custom or agreement which ensures more favourable conditions to the
workers concerned than those provided for in the Convention or Recommendation.
4
4. ILO AND THE RATIFICATION PROCESS
NOTES
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation
and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements.
IBFAN/GIFA, C.P. 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-798 4443 Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive,
Suite 102, NC Raleigh, 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181
Fax:919-787-4916 Email: info@ilca.org Website: www.ilca.org
•
International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children's Health, Uppsala University,
University Hospital, Entrance 11, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115985 Fax:46-18-508013 • The LINKAGES Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Tel: 202-884-8000
Fax:202-884-8977 Email: linkages@aed.org Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Breastfeeding:
the Heart of our Matter
The Maternity Protection Coalition - like the ILO,
trade unions and the majority of States in the world understands maternity protection as a social
responsibility. If women are both to work and to have
children in decent and healthy conditions, maternity
protection is a necessity for all women. Providing
paternity leave and parental leave are also important
steps towards developing a more involved role for
fathers. Financial benefits are vital; they enable women
to continue providing basic necessities to the family
while they are out of the workforce during their
maternity leave. Job protection and non-discrimination
are also a central aspect of maternity protection,
because if women fear they will lose their jobs, they
may fail to take sufficient leave time - to the detriment
of their health and their baby’s health.
The goal of this MPC Campaign Kit is to help combine
breastfeeding advocacy with advocacy for maternity
protection. Breastfeeding advocacy has primarily
come from the health and consumer communities,
while maternity protection has been an issue more for
the economic and labour sectors, especially the trade
unions. The adoption in 2000 of new ILO Maternity
Protection instruments, Convention 183 and
Recommendation 191, and the adoption in 2002 of
the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy on Infant and
Young Child Feeding give activists new reasons to
plan joint actions and to assure a place for
breastfeeding on the maternity protection agenda.
The various stakeholders - government, trade unions
and employers - must be informed about the
importance of breastfeeding. Their support plays a
central role to enable women to follow the
recommendations of the WHO/UNICEF Global
Strategy: to breastfeed exclusively during a child’s first
six months, then continue breastfeeding while giving
safe and adequate complementary foods until age two
or beyond1. A key step toward this goal is to ensure
that the minimum standards set by the International
Labour Organization are implemented at the
workplace.
It is clear that the founders of the ILO in 1919
understood that breastfeeding is an integral part of
motherhood, and thus deserves protection at the
workplace. Social and economic trends since 1919
have reduced breastfeeding rates, and in turn led to a
loss of the shared understanding about the lives of
breastfeeding women that comes from everyday
contact within the family, the neighbourhood, and the
workplace. At the heart of this kit are several tools
that can be used to inform the stakeholders and thus
assist in the re-building of community knowledge
about the real lives and needs of breastfeeding women
at work.
• Scientific evidence for the health and economic
value of breastfeeding is continually expanding.
Breastfeeding: Everyone Benefits is a recent
summary (see page 3).
1. WHA55.15 (2002): “10...As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life
to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirement, infants should receive
nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond “ The Global
Strategy recommendation is based on Resolution WHA54.2 (2001), which itself is based on the review of scientific data on the optimal
duration of breastfeeding.
5. BREASTFEEDING: THE HEART OF OUR MATTER
The workplace was identified as one of four target A note about numbers
areas for breastfeeding advocacy in the Innocenti The careful reader will note that the recommendations
Declaration, adopted in 1990 by participants at a often vary from one document to the next. Two
obvious examples are the number of weeks of
WHO/UNICEF policymakers’ meeting.
Women, Work and Breastfeeding: Everybody maternity leave and the recommended length of
benefits! This World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) exclusive breastfeeding. In addition, an individual
Action Folder was the basic document used by mother-baby pair may have needs that fall short or go
WABA to launch the campaign in 1993 and is still beyond the length of time recommended as a universal
rule.
on going.
Steps towards a People-friendly Workplace is a
pamphlet that WABA developed in conjunction The ILO standard of 14 weeks for maternity leave is a
with Human Resources experts. It is targeted to minimum. As long as so many countries still fall short
of the minimum, then 14 weeks may have to be the
employers.
In WHA Resolutions there are excerpts of primary goal. However, the general rule for maternity
leave is: longer is betterfor breastfeeding. Flexibility
important World Health Assembly documents.
1) WHA 34.22 - The Code summarises the eleven is helpful, too. Some babies adapt easily to change,
articles of the International Code of Marketing while others are more challenging.
of Breast-Milk Substitutes from 1981.
2) Subsequent WHA Resolutions - 1982-2001 In 2000, WHO commissioned a thorough review of
reviews relevant resolutions from the biennial published scientific literature on the optimal duration
discussions of infant and child feeding at the of exclusive breastfeeding. The conclusions led to
WHA.
WHA to recommend six months of exclusive
3) A brief description of the WHO/UNICEF breastfeeding as a global public health
Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child recommendation (WHA54.2, 2001 and Global
Feeding is given, and there are excerpts from Strategy, 2002). This is the most recent global
the text that refer to maternity protection.
recommendation on exclusive breastfeeding. It should
Two interventions from the 2000 meeting of the be noted however, that many concerned parties are
1LO Committee on Maternity Protection are not aware of it and continue advising shorter duration
included here: the UNICEF Statement to the ILO (four to six months, for example).
Conference 2000 and the WHO Statement to the
ILO Conference 2000. They contain evidence Breastfeeding: Everyone benefits
based recommendations concerning the health and Breastfeeding has been found to be vital for child
human rights of women and children.
survival and is also beneficial for mothers’ health.
Every Woman’s Right to Breastfeed is a Breastfeeding contributes positively to the nation’s
pamphlet that details the basis for considering economy, to employers, families and communities.
breastfeeding as a human right that can be found
in international human rights instruments.
Here is some basic information about the benefits of
Breastfeeding: Who benefits? Who pays? is a breastfeeding which will be useful for educating allies
handout for employers and policy-makers that or convincing opponents in a campaign.
briefly explores the costs and benefits of supporting
breastfeeding in the workplace.
Breastfeeding benefits for Children
Breastfeeding and the Workplace describes in Before a baby is born, the uterus protects him or her
detail the conditions that are needed to support from most of the germs to which the mother is exposed.
breastfeeding employees at the worksite.
After birth, the mother’s breastmilk continues to
protect against many of the viruses, bacteria and
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
3
parasites to which the baby is now exposed. Several
substances in breastmilk not only prevent diseases;
some stimulate and strengthen the development of the
baby’s immature immune system. This results in better
health, even years after breastfeeding has ended. For
these and other reasons, based on scientific evidence,
the World Health Assembly has adopted, as a public
health recommendation, that babies should be fed
exclusively on breastmilk for six months and continue
breastfeeding at least until two years of age (1).
• Pneumonia: Worldwide, pneumonia is one of the
leading causes of death in children under five years
of age. A study in Brazil showed that the risk of
hospitalisation for pneumonia among non-breastfed
infants was 17 times greater than that for breastfed
infants (7).
Breastfeeding promotes child survival:
• “If all babies were fed only breastmilkfor the first
six months of life, the lives of an estimated 1.5
million infants would be saved every year and the
health and development ofmillions ofothers would
be greatly improved,” states UNICEF in its 2002
edition of Facts for Life (2).
• In resource-poor settings, exclusive breastfeeding
may be the best option for HIV-positive mothers
(3).
• Breastfeeding is an essential means of providing
food security for millions of infants worldwide (4),
and even more so in developing countries and in
regions having to cope with war, conflict,
population displacement, natural disasters, or
economic crises.
Breastfeeding reduces the incidence of infectious
diseases:
• Otitis media: Middle ear infections are one of the
most frequent reasons for seeing the doctor. In a
US study, infants from birth to twelve months who
were not breastfed had twice as many ear infections
as babies who were exclusively breastfed for about
four months (5).
• Diarrhoea: The antibodies in a mother’s milk
protect her baby from the germs causing diarrhoea.
In poor communities, diarrhoea caused by bottle
feeding is responsible for acute sickness. The cycle
of illness, dehydration and malnutrition weakens
the child, often fatally. A study from the Republic
of Belarus shows that infants exclusively
breastfeeding at three months have 40% less risk
of developing gastrointestinal infections (6).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of asthma and other
allergies:
• In Australia, risk of childhood asthma decreases by
at least 40% in infants breastfed for four months (8).
• A Medline review of twelve studies relating
breastfeeding and asthma points out that exclusive
breastfeeding reduced the risk of asthma by 30%,
and showed still better results (48%) in families
with a history of asthma-related illnesses (9).
Breastfeeding improves IQ outcomes:
• In Denmark, a recent study confirmed that
breastfeeding affects brain development as
measured in the child’s ability to crawl, to grip and
to babble in polysyllables: the longer the duration
of breastfeeding, the higher the child’s capacities
(10).
Long-term effects of breastfeeding on health:
• Bone mass: In Tanzania, a study demonstrated that
there was significant association between
breastfeeding in infancy and higher bone mineral
density among the eight year-old boys examined,
in comparison with children that had not been
breastfed (11).
• Haemophilus influenzae meningitis: In Sweden, a
study showed that low breastfeeding rates were
followed, five to ten years later, by increased
meningitis rates (12).
• Obesity: In a number of countries (Germany, Czech
Republic, the UK, the USA) research demonstrates
that breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity and
overweight (13).
Benefits for Mothers
Breastfeeding is an integral part of the reproductive
cycle: exclusive breastfeeding, followed at six months
by the introduction of appropriate complementary
4
5. BREASTFEEDING: THE HEART OF OUR MATTER
foods, and continued breastfeeding until the age of
two years or more, completes this cycle. Studies have
shown that there are many women for whom
contraception is unavailable, unaffordable or
unacceptable. For these women, breastfeeding
(according to the LAM criteria mentioned below) is
the primary means of delaying pregnancy and spacing
births.Moreover, breastfeeding develops emotional
and psychological well-being in mothers, and has
numerous health advantages.
Breastfeeding helps in spacing children:
• As long as a mother breastfeeds fully or nearly fully
and as long as her periods have not returned, her
protection against pregnancy during the first six
months is 98 % (14). This family planning method
is called the Lactational Amenorrhea Method LAM.
Breastfeeding results in the reduction of anaemia:
• In the first hours and days after birth, early
breastfeeding brings about uterine contractions,
preventing excessive blood loss.
• Over the months, breastfeeding reduces the
frequency and severity of anaemia by delaying the
return of the monthly period and helping the mother
build her iron reserves (15).
Long-term effects of breastfeeding on mothers’
health:
• Breast cancer: Studies from the US, China, Japan,
New Zealand, the UK and Mexico show that
women who breastfed their children have reduced
risk of developing breast cancer and that the risk
declines with increased duration of breastfeeding
(16).
• Ovarian cancer: Breastfeeding for at least two
months per child decreases the mother’s risk of
developing epithelial ovarian cancer (17).
• Osteoporosis: The risk of hip fracture amongst
women over 65 is reduced by half for those who
have breastfed. It decreases by another quarter for
those who have breastfed each of their children at
least nine months (18).
Benefits for Families
Preparing for the arrival of the new baby, undergoing
the birth process, and adapting to the child’s first
months are among the most extraordinary, testing, and
emotional periods that parents and families experience.
Loving, caring for, nurturing, but also worrying about
one’s child are normal feelings and are sometimes
overwhelming. Any illness takes an emotional toll on
families; sickness in a newborn baby or a working
mother causes even more worry. Health care costs are
constantly increasing and can represent considerable
strain on the family budget.
Breastfeeding strengthens family ties:
• Studies have shown the emotional and
psychological importance, as well as the bonding
effects of breastfeeding to both mother and child.
The importance of bonding is even greater when
mothers return to work.
• Breastfeeding develops a mother’s confidence in
her physical and emotional capacities (19).
Breastfeeding brings economic benefits and helps
to save time:
• Savings on the purchase of breastmilk substitutes
and other feeding equipment.
• Less spending on medical care and medication.
• Less spending on birth control methods.
• Less time preparing bottles, including fetching
water, fuel, and cleaning utensils.
• Less time and worry spent on having to care for
illnesses that could often be avoided.
Benefits for Employers
When infants and children are sick, mothers or fathers
often stay home to care for them. National laws may
allow parents to take holiday leave or to call in sick
themselves. This absenteeism is costly to employers
- and to national budgets for health care. Moreover,
many employed women have only a short period of
paid maternity leave. If they want to breastfeed their
babies, it is important to set up favourable conditions
at the workplace. Many labour laws provide paid or
unpaid daily breastfeeding breaks, and many
employers set up breastfeeding facilities on-site for
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
their female workers. Adequate hygienic facilities for
breastfeeding or expressing and storing breastmilk are
relatively easy and inexpensive to provide.
Breastfeeding reduces staff absenteeism:
• Studies in the USA and elsewhere have shown that
breastfed babies had statistically fewer episodes
of illness than formula-fed infants and that mothers
of breastfed babies were less absent (only 25% of
one-day maternal absences) than mothers of bottle
fed babies (20).
Breastfeeding contributes to more stable
workforce :
• Employers who support their female employees
(maternity benefits, breastfeeding breaks, rest
periods...) note improved staff morale, less turnover
and increased loyalty to the enterprise.
Benefits for Society
Breastmilk is a living substance. It is unique and nonreplaceable, specifically tailored to the changing needs
of each baby. It is the first human food par excellence,
the best example of how humanity can sustain itself
through provision of a complete food for human
babies. Breastfeeding also makes economic sense
because it is less costly to produce than formula; it
also allows society to make considerable savings in
health care costs.
Breastfeeding helps to protect the environment:
• Ecological in its production, consumption and
disposal, it is a natural and renewable resource.
• Less industrial production, transportation,
packaging, and disposal pollution: breastfeeding
5
lactation period of Indian mothers). If the milk had
been purchased in the form of tinned cows milk, it
would have cost close to US$3 billion, or more
than three times the combined budgets of the
Departments of Education, Health and Family
Welfare, and Science and Technology during that
same period of time. In Guatemala, annual
spending on breastmilk substitutes amounts to
approximately US$48 million (21).
• Savings on health care expenses for preventable
acute and chronic illnesses: an Australian study
calculated that if breastfeeding at three months of
age increased in prevalence from 60% to 80%,
Australian $3.7 million would be saved on treating
gastro-intestinal diseases alone (22). Researchers
in Newfoundland, Canada, estimated that improved
prevalence of breastfeeding could save the province
up to Canadian $370,000 per year on the care of
babies with asthma and eczema (23).
As the benefits of breastfeeding have a positive impact
on all levels of society, it is all the more important
that the responsibility for supporting women to
breastfeed optimally is carried by all of society.
Acknowledgements
IBFAN, “What Scientific Research Says ...”, IBFAN
Action Pack, December 1998.
INFACT Canada, “The Benefits of Breastfeeding”,
World Breastfeeding Week Kit, 2001.
International Women Count Network, “Breastfeeding:
A Global Fact Sheet”, 1999.
produces hardly any waste.
Breastfeeding results in overall economic benefits:
• Nations can save huge amounts on the purchase
and distribution of commercial breastmilk
substitutes (often in foreign exchange). In India for
example, at the national level, women produce
approximately 3,900 million litres of milk over a
two-year period (which corresponds to the usual
Nurture - Centre to Prevent Childhood Malnutrition,
“A Guide to Assessing the Economic Value of
Breastfeeding”, 1990.
UNICEF, “Breastfeeding, the Foundation for a
Healthy Future”, New York, August 1999.
UNICEF, Facts for Life, 3H edition, 2002.
6
5. BREASTFEEDING: THE HEART OF OUR MATTER
WABA, “Women, Work and Breastfeeding: everyone
benefits". World Breastfeeding Week Action Folder
1993.
WABA, "Breastfeeding: Nature’s way, World
Breastfeeding Week Action Folder 1997.
WABA, “Breastfeeding: the best investment”. World
Breastfeeding Week Action Folder 1998.
Notes
1. Infant and young child nutrition, 18 May 2001,
WHA54.2, "...to protect, promote and support
exclusive breastfeeding for six months as a global
health recommendation, taking into account the
findings of the WHO expert consultation on optimal
duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and to provide
safe and appropriate complementary foods, with
continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or
beyond... ”.
6.
Kramer MS et al., “A Randomized Trial in the
Republic of Belarus. Promotion of Breastfeeding
Intervention Trial (PROBIT)”, JAMA, 285: 413-420,
2001.
7.
Cesar JA, Victora CG, Banos FC, Santos IS, Flores
JA, “Impact of Breast Feeding on Admission for
Pneumonia during Post-neonatal Period in Brazil:
nested case-control study”, British Medical Journal,
318: 1316-1320, 1999.
8.
Oddy WH et al., “Association between breast
feeding and asthma in the 6-year old child: findings
of a prospective cohort study”, British Medical
Journal, 319: 815-818, 1999.
9.
Gdalevich M, Mimouni D, Mimouni M,
“Breastfeeding and the Risk of Bronchial Asthma in
Childhood: a systematic review with meta-analysis of
prospective studies”, J. Pediatr, 139: 261-266, 2001.
Other studies on asthma and breastfeeding:
Karanasekera KA, Jayasinghe JA, Alwis LW, “Risk
Factors of Childhood Asthma: a Sri-Lankan study, J
2. UNICEF, Facts for Life, New York, 3rd edition, Trop Pediatr, 47: 142-145, 2001. Romieu I, Wemeck
2002, p. 39.
G, Ruiz Vaelasco S, White M, Hernandez M,
“Breastfeeding and Asthma among Brazilian
3. Coutsoudis A, Pillay K, Spooner E, Kuhn L, Children”, J Asthma, 37: 575-583, 2000. Wright AL,
Coovadia HM, “Influences of infant-feeding patterns Holberg CJ, Taussig LM, Martinez FD, “Factors
on early mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Influencing the Relation of Infant Feeding to Asthma
Durban, South Africa: a prospective cohort study”, and Recurrent Wheeze in Childhood”, Thorax, 56:
The Lancet, 354: 471-476, 1999.
192-197, 2001.
4. World Declaration and Plan ofAction for Nutrition 10.
Vestergaard M, Obel C, Henriksen TB, Sorensen
of the International Conference on Nutrition, Rome, HT, Skajaa E, Ostergaard J, “Duration of
1991. Article 30 of the Plan of Action states that Breastfeeding and Developmental Milestones during
“Breastfeeding is the most secure means of assuring the Latter Half of Infancy”, Acta Paediatrica, 88:
food security of infants and should be promoted and
1327-1332, 1999. Other studies: Horwood LJ et al.,
protected through appropriate policies and “Breastfeeding and Later Cognitive Development and
programmes.” See also Armstrong H, “Breastfeeding Academic Outcomes”, Pediatrics, 101, 1998. Lucas
as the foundation of care”, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, A et al., “Breastmilk and Subsequent Intelligent
UNU Press, 16:4, 299-312, 1995.
Quotient in Children Born Premature”, The Lancet,
339: 261-264, 1992.
5. Duncan B et al., “Exclusive breastfeeding for at
least 4 months protects against otitis media”,
11.
Jones G, Riley M, Dwyer T, “Breastfeeding in
Pediatrics, 91(5): 867-872, 1993.
Early Life and Bone Mass in Prepubertal Children: a
longitudinal study”, Osteoporos Int, 11: 146-152,
2000.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
7
12. Silfverdal SA, Bodin L, Olcen P, “Protective Effect 17. Rosenblatt KA et al., “Lactation and the Risk of
of Breastfeeding: an ecologic study of Haemophilus Epithelial Ovarian Cancer”, International Journal of
influenzae meningitis and breastfeeding in a Swedish Epidemiology, 22(2): 192-197, 1993.
population”, International Journal of Epidemiology,
28: 152-156, 1999.
18. Commings RG, Klineberg RJ, “Breastfeeding and
Other Reproductive Factors in the Risk of Hip Fracture
13. Kries R von, Koletzko B, Sauerwald T, Mutius E in Elderly Women”, International Journal of
von, Barnert D, Gruneert V, Voss H von, Epidemiology, 2(4): 684-691, 1993.
“Breastfeeding and Obesity: cross sectional study”,
British Medical Journal, 319: 1547-150, 1999. Also:
19. Locklin M, “Telling the world: low income women
Vignerova J, Lhodska L, Blaha P, Roth Z, “Growth and their breastfeeding experiences”, JHumLact 11(4),
of the Czech Child Population 0-18 Years Compared 285-291, 1995.
to World Health Organisation Growth Reference”,
American Journal of Human Biology, 9: 459-468, 20. Cohen R, Mrtek MB, Mrtek RG, “Comparison of
1997. WHO, “Obesity: preventing and managing the Maternal Absenteeism and Infant Illness Rates among
global epidemic”, Report of a WHO Consultation, Breastfeeding and Formula-feeding Women in Two
WHO Technical Report Series 894, 2000. Armstrong Corporations”, American Journal of Health
J. Reilly JJ et al., “Breastfeeding and Lowering the Promotion, 10(2): 148-53, 1995.
Risk of Childhood Obesity”, The Lancet, 359 (9322),
2002.
21. Gupta A, Khanna K, “Economic Value of
Breastfeeding in India”, National Medical Journal of
14. Kennedy KI, Visness CM, “Contraceptive Efficacy India, 12 (3): 123-127, 1999. Also: CONAPLAM
of Lactational Amenorrhea”, The Lancet, 339: 227- (Guatemalan National Commission for the Promotion
of Breastfeeding), Lactancia Materna en Guatemala,
230, 1992.
1999.
15. American Academy of Pediatrics, “Breastfeeding
and the Use of Human Milk”, Pediatrics, 100:1035- 22. Drane D, “Breastfeeding and Formula Feeding: a
9, 1997.
preliminary economic analysis”, Breastfeeding
Review, 5:1, 7-17, 1997.
16. Furberg H et al., “Lactation and Breast Cancer
Risk”, International Journal ofEpidemiology, 28:396- 23. Marini A et al., “Effects of a Dietary and
402, 1999. Also: Chang-Claude J, Eby N, Kiechle M, Environmental Prevention Programme on the
Bastert G, Becher H, “Breastfeeding and Breast Cancer Incidence of Allergic Symptoms in High Atopic Risk
Risk by Age 50 among Women in Germany”, Cancer Infants: three years follow-up”, Acta Paediatrica
Causes Control, 11: 687-695, 2000. United Kingdom Supplement, 414: 1-22, 1996. Also: Ball TM, Wright
National Case-Control Study Group, “Breastfeeding AL, “Health Care Costs of Formula-feeding in the First
and Risk of Breast Cancer in Young Women”, British Year of Life”, Pediatrics, 103:4, p. 874, 1995.
Medical Journal, 307: 17-20, 1993. Collaborative
Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer, “Breast
cancer and breastfeeding. Collaborative reanalysis of
individual data from 47 epidemiological studies in 30
countries, including 50 302 women with breast cancer
and 96 973 women without the disease”, The Lancet,
360: 187-195,2002.
8
5. BREASTFEEDING: THE HEART OF OUR MATTER
NOTES
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation
and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements.
IBFAN/GIFA, C.P. 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-798 4443 Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive,
Suite 102, NC Raleigh, 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181 Fax: 919-787-4916 Email: info@ilca.org Website: www.ilca.org •
International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children's Health, Uppsala University,
University Hospital, Entrance 11,5-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115985 Fax:46-18-508013 • The LINKAGES Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Tel: 202-884-8000
Fax:202-884-8977 Email: linkages@aed.org Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Organising
a Maternity Protection
Campaign
Here is a sample plan for a maternity protection campaign. It is divided into nine
steps, but in reality you will find at times that you are shifting back and forth
between the steps. The process of assessing, analysing, planning, acting, and
evaluating will keep cycling throughout your campaign. For example, finding allies
will be something you do repeatedly as people enter and leave your action group
and as new projects come up. Or you may skip certain steps depending on your
starting point.
The amount of work will probably appear enormous. It underlines the importance
of working with others to share tasks and responsibilities. No one can carry out a
campaign alone.
Advocacy and problem solving are highly creative, and it is easy to be swept away
by overly ambitious plans. It is important therefore to be as specific and concrete
as possible in planning activities, to begin with small goals that are reasonably
attainable, and to evaluate progress often. Advocates want to see that they are
making a difference. Starting with small steps is one way to reach early success.
The materials in this section are based largely on the experiences of IB FAN groups
in Africa, which held training and planning sessions on Maternity Protection in
2001 and 2002.
SECTION
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
SECTION
6a
Steps to © Swccessfel
PFotesSfeffl
'
T
Step 1. Reviewing your resources
Before you begin, it is essential to know your
own group
Before starling a campaign, it is important to review
your own group's ability in terms of previous
successes/problems, amount of time and expertise
available and financial resources. It is important to
also carry out a stakeholder analysis in order to find
out who the core partners will be and make contacts
with the main stakeholders (governments, ministries
of labour usually, trade unions, employers and other
stakeholders such as women's organisations, health
and nutrition groups, international organisations, etc.).
A useful tool for this exercise could be a SWOT
analysis (see table below).
It is important to find out who is working on maternity
protection in your country. Your project should
complement what is already going on and avoid
duplication. You can find out about their work by
contacting the various relevant groups, collecting
information about them, their objectives and activities,
and the name of the contact person for discussions on
joint activities.
As a breastfeeding group you can provide updated
information on various aspects of breastfeeding, such
as health, environment, economics, gender and rights.
It is important to bring the breastfeeding perspective
into maternity protection debate since it is sometimes
neglected or forgotten, especially where breastfeeding
rates are low.
Stegs 2. Assessing the national situation
Begin by doing a rapid assessment of
maternity protection at the national level
The rapid assessment can be the first step of
information gathering. It will help you identify the
broad outlines of the problems that working women
and their families are facing.
Making a national assessment will help you decide
where to focus your efforts to have the greatest effect.
If your group already has good contacts with other
stakeholders, the process of information gathering will
be much shorter and more effective, (See Campaign
Tool 1 - Rapid Assessment of Current Status of
Maternity Protection in Zimbabwe).
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths +
Weaknesses -
(List here the positive aspects this group has
(List here the negative aspects that have accumulated
developed so far.)
over time and that influence the group's present
functioning.)
Opportunities +
Threats -
(List here the external positive aspects, situations
(List here the external negative points that may occur
or trends the group should take advantage of in order
and may therefore have clear repercussions on the
to make progress in future.)
group's programme implementation.)
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
A SWOT analysis of your country situation can also
be valuable. For instance, breastfeeding advocates in
Sweden, where maternity and parental leave policies
are first-rate, found that gender discrimination in the
workplace was still an issue that could attract the
attention of trade unions, women’s groups and the
media. In Country A, the best strategy might be to
emphasise the health outcomes. In Country B, it may
be the economic value of maternity protection. In
Country C. human rights focusing on breastfeeding
might be the key issue.
Step So Forming an action group
The goal is to assemble a multi-disciplinary
national action group where all stakeholders
have a chance to participate
You can skip this step if you already have a group.
Sometimes there is no need to start a new group as
you can work with an existing group.
When you form an action group you will probably
want to bring your potential members together to
discuss the conditions in your country revealed in the
rapid assessment. As the participants begin to form
an action group, it would be useful to do a SWOT
self-assessment of their new group (see Step 1). It is
essential to collect information, discuss ideals, share
the work, so as to become a stronger negotiating force.
Step 4. Doing an in-depth national
assessment
To expand on information from the rapid
assessment, a more comprehensive
information-gathering and information
sharing effort can be undertaken
An in-depth national assessment is necessary in order
to obtain information about your national situation and
to understand problems concerning adopting and
implementing maternity protection at the workplace.
The rapid assessment suggested in Step 2 will have
helped you to get a broad idea of the national situation.
Step 2 and Step 4 may be combined depending on
when and how you begin information collection. For
instance, organising a workshop or seminar that
includes various stakeholders: representatives from
3
trade unions, employers associations, ministries of
labour and women’s affairs, health groups, women’s
organisations, and law and human rights organisations
will act as a “one-stop” opportunity to obtain
information. These stakeholders can provide you with
information on the state of C183 ratification, maternity
protection laws, regulations, collective bargaining
agreements, the situation of working mothers and their
needs regarding breastfeeding breaks and creches at
the workplace. Meetings and workshops will also help
in developing partnerships and in reinforcing your
group, thus facilitating information exchange and
lobbying.
Hence, it is important to:
1) Contact as many sources as possible to get a wide
range of information. This information will help
you make an in-depth assessment of the national
situation (See Box - In-depth National
Assessment).
2) Collect all the information possible on maternity
protection in your country. Campaign Tool 2 Some Methods of Data Collection will guide you
on methods of information gathering and what kind
of information you will need.
3) Obtain a copy of the official report of your
country’s maternity protection laws. This report
was required of all ILO Member States following
the adoption of Cl 83. It is a survey of the country’s
existing laws that cover maternity protection,
comparing them to the provisions of Cl83. The
government is supposed to make this survey
available to the workers and employers’
organisations.
4) Check how well maternity protection laws are
implemented. Even if your national laws are good,
you will probably want to find out how well they
are practised. For example, you can find out from
the trade unions, statistics bureaus, or university
departments if there are any surveys of how women
have combined motherhood and breastfeeding with
work. The ICFTU/PSI/EI trade union kit includes
a sample survey questionnaire (See Campaign Tool
. Your group may collaborate with the unions to
5)
include some more breastfeeding questions in any
planned surveys.
6a. NINE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
4
TIPS FOR IN-DEPTH NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
•
In most countries, the Ministry of Labour is responsible
Trade unions know the situation in your country,
for the labour laws under which maternity protection
especially the large international unions that are active
usually falls. Other government ministries and offices
in supporting maternity protection at ILO: El (Education
that may be involved are Health, Trade, Social Security,
•
Free Trade Unions), PSI (Public Services International)
or Gender Equality. If your government sent a
and WCL (World Confederation of Labour). These have
delegation to the ILO Committee on Maternity
affiliates in most countries. (See Directory of Key
Protection in 1999 and 2000, the delegates who went
Contacts in Section 9, Resources.)
to Geneva could be a good source of information.
Contacts in an employers' association may be able to
Maternity protection regulations might be found under
give valuable information.-
other names than "labour" laws. You can look under
are inter-ministerial bodies. For instance, a Food &
In some countries there
employment acts, maternity/parental/family leave
Nutrition Institute would have an interest in how
legislation, public health or occupational health laws,
women's work affects women's and children's nutrition.
social security bills, gender equity legislation, anti
discrimination laws,
•
International), ICFTU (International Confederation of
Occupational Health, Public Health, Women, Family,
national, regional, and
Many universities have research departments devoted
to women's issues or gender studies.
international Conventions (including other ILO
Women's organisations could also provide information
Conventions), collective bargaining agreements (CBAs),
about the difficulties that women face regarding
or the workplace policies of individual firms and
maternity protection at work.
institutions.
If there is a national or regional ILO office in your
It is important to remember that getting a law passed is
country, it would be useful to see what kind of assistance
only the first step to changing behaviour. Once on the
they can provide. Likewise, a national or regional WHO
books, laws are turned into regulations. Then they are
or UNICEF office may be helpful.
put into practice, and usually they are tested in the
courts before they reach full acceptance. Court
Source: IBFAN Africa
decisions on labour laws would be a good topic to
explore with a government expert or a legal advisor to
a trade union.
Step 5. Working with our key partner
- the trade unions
It is important to recognise the need to work with trade
unions. They are our key partners and allies in
advocating, negotiating and implementing maternity
protection at the workplace. Trade unions are usually
well organised and represent large numbers of workers.
They have political power, they bargain collectively
for agreements on behalf of their members, they have
experience in mobilising workers, and they have the
human and other resources to conduct campaigns
efficiently. Some trade unions also have a women's
bureau or a women's desk, and many are open to the
ideas we promote - it is often a question of raising
their awareness about our issues.
As we reach out to trade unions, however, it is
important to keep in mind that maternity protection is
not always their top priority. Trade unions are known
to be male dominated in many countries as men form
the majority of active members in trade union activity.
Most trade union leaders are also men. Not many
women are able to participate actively in trade unions
or even attend their meetings regularly on account of
their domestic responsibilities. The majority of women
workers have to rush home immediately after work to
attend to their family meals, take care of their children
and do other household tasks. Owing to the inadequate
participation of women in trade union meetings,
women s issues are not well represented in trade
unions. Thus maternity protection is hardly a priority,
especially in developing countries where there are
many other pressing issues such as higher wages,
bonus, illegal dismissals, lockouts, etc.
maternity protection campaign kit
e need to raise awareness on the specific
breastfeeding issues related to C183. As breastfeeding
advocates, we can assist our allies with solid arguments
5
for why protecting maternity and breastfeeding at the
workplace benefits everyone in the end.
EDUCATING WORKERS ON Cl83 IN THE PHILIPPINES
Here is an innovative example of a breastfeeding promotion
Therefore giving infant formula milk seemed a natural thing
group's efforts at collaborating with a trade union in the
for them to do. Also, in the Philippines, mothers have only
Philippines using a popular medium (radio) to raise awareness
eight weeks of maternity leave. The working mothers breastfed
of breastfeeding and maternity protection at the workplace.
only when they were at home in the mornings and evenings,
Advocates took into consideration women workers' multiple
and eventually their milk supply decreased.
burdens of domestic work and responsibilities and their
Because they were away so long between feeds, breast
inability to participate in trade union meetings, workshops
engorgement was a common problem for all of them. While
and other activities after work.
at work, several of them just put towels on their breasts to
Radio is very popular in the Philippines; you will find the
radio blaring pop music, news, interviews, and advertisements
in homes, buses, taxis, private cars, in markets, in factories,
and even in offices.
keep the milk from dripping or wetting their blouses. Some
of them expressed milk and threw it away in the toilet.
They did not understand why breastfeeding breaks during
work hours were important. Even if they had known about
Radio is a good medium to hold people's attention and
milk expression, in most cases they would not have had
also distract them from the boredom of long journeys to work
enough time to express their milk, nor would they have had
and traffic jams and also to lighten the burden of household
a place to do so except in the toilet.
chores and routine jobs.
Recognising this, many employers too have installed piped
music in factories where women workers have tedious and
repetitive jobs which involve being nimble with their fingers,
e.g. in the electronics and garment industries, or dull work
such as folding, labelling, packaging.
In the light of this, a trade union, the Women Workers
On the other hand, a majority of them saw the need to
extend maternity leave beyond eight weeks.
After listening to the audio tapes, their views changed
radically.
They understood how valuable breastmilk was and how
important extending maternity leave was to both mother and
child.
Foundation of the Philippines in co-operation with Arugaan,
They also considered that it was feasible to ask
an NGO in the Philippines and WABA, initiated a project to
management for breastfeeding breaks and a breastfeeding
address advocacy on working women's rights and
corner to express their milk. They thought this could possibly
breastfeeding in a creative way. The project produced three
be negotiated at factory level.
audio cassette tapes to educate and entertain women workers
Moreover, they expressed the need to set up creches at
on Cl 83, first at the workplace, but also while going to and
the workplace and in the community where they lived, in
from work, and at home. All the tapes were produced in
particular for workers whose babies had been sent back to
English and played during work as well as on bus journeys.
their grandparents in the provinces because no one could
They were also given to women to listen to at home during
care for them in the city.
their household chores.
Trade union members interviewed women workers in two
In conclusion, this story shows the importance of working
with trade unions because they have a mass base. With trade
factories and a large downtown department store twice -
union support we can reach out to workers and disseminate
before listening to the tapes, and then afterwards.This is what
widely the basic information about breastfeeding and
they learned.
maternity protection at the workplace. A massive information
A majority of the women interviewed before listening
drive among workers is a must. Also this experience reveals
to the tape agreed that, health-wise, breastmilk was best
how awareness was raised in a creative way without women
for babies, but they did not really know why.
having to spend additional time outside their work hours,
A majority of the workers agreed that a woman worker
attending meetings or reading lot of materials.
could breastfeed when she returned to work after maternity
leave. However, they also started bottle-feeding because they
were returning to work. One of the reasons was that many of
Source: Edited and extracted from a report by Bobbie
them did not know that expressing breastmilk was possible.
Jopson, Philippines, 2002.
6
6a. NINE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
Step 6. Developing a plan of action
You can develop a plan of action by organising the
information you have collected in your national
assessment. You can compare your national laws with
C183 and R191 and make comments about how they
measure up. These should help you see what needs to
be done. Your comments can go beyond what is written
in the laws to include possible allies, or remarks on
how the general political or economic situation affect
people’s attitudes toward expanding maternity
protection at the workplace. (See Campaign Tool 3 Comparison and Analysis of Cl 83 with National Laws
and Practices).
Based on your comprehensive assessment, you can
now determine which long-term, middle-term, and
short-term goals you want to attain, which strategies
you will adopt to meet them, and what actions you
should undertake. (See Campaign Tool 4 - Country
Plan ofAction - Zimbabwe as an example).
Strategy Options
The action group should aim to set realistic goals,
which may be long-term or short-term, but they should
always be feasible.
• An important decision is whether to push for
ratification and if yes, when to push for ratification
of Convention 183. This depends on how close your
national laws come to the standard set by C183. If
your action group decides it is realistic to call for
ratification, you will need to learn how ratification
works in your country. (See Ratification Process
and Ghana example in Section 4 - 1LO and the
Ratification Process.) It is important to know the
points in the ratification process where public
comments are accepted. Your plans should take
advantage of these opportunities to raise public
awareness, to draw media attention, mobilise trade
unions and lobby political leaders.
• If your national laws are very far from complying
with Cl83, then you may decide to devote your
efforts and resources to areas where early success
is more likely. Therefore, improving various
specific aspects of your country’s maternity
protection laws may be your first priority.
Ratification then remains your long-term goal.
• To help in this decision, you may want to examine
the different levels of action where you need to
focus your efforts (see Section 3 - Knowing
Maternity Protection Laws and Instruments at
Work). Depending on the status of the law and the
specific political situation in your country, you may
choose to target your national law, your state
legislation, your city bylaws or the regulations of
an individual enterprise.
• All this information will help you determine your
actions. For instance, to widen the scope of a law
to cover more women; to extend the length or
flexibility of maternity leave; to propose a new
scheme for financing benefits; to spread
information about health risks and health protection
in the workplace to more women; and to sensitise
all workers to the issues of harassment and
discrimination. Remember that most countries will
need to improve some existing maternity protection
provisions in order for ratification to take place.
• Another strategy is to focus on a particular sector
of the workforce and help make it a model for
others. In your country, is there a strong union,
perhaps a nurses’ or teachers’ union representing
many female members? A shortage of trained
workers can motivate the employers to offer a better
package of benefits. In such conditions, it may be
possible for the union to bargain collectively for a
model maternity protection agreement. Once one
is in place, it can be held up as an example.
Sflejp 7. Carrying out the plan of action
You will need to consider budget, time-line,
ways to mobilise your group membership to
carry out your campaign
After deciding what strategy/ies to use you will need
to work out a plan of action. The activities you choose
to do must be relevant, timely and feasible. Your
activities may be broadly in the areas of research and
information, communications and lobbying
Information and communication: are crucial for a
campaign to be effective. The following activities are
suggested:
• Research may be needed to collect information,
for instance, about the conditions of working
women in your country so as to determine gaps.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
Information needs to be collected on how far the
legislation is implemented, which women in the
informal sector are covered, whether nursing breaks
are provided, why women do not wish to bring their
babies to workplace - is it because of long distance
and inadequate transport, or unhealthy conditions,
or lack of breastfeeding facilities at the workplace?
Information may be collected by doing a survey
(see Campaign Tool 5 - Sample survey - maternity
protection).
It is essential to inform people, especially workers
about maternity protection and the Convention 183.
As you make alliances with new groups and trade
unions, you may find that you need to educate them
about breastfeeding, exploring how it fits into their
agenda. Breastfeeding may be a new subject for a
union organiser or a gender equity activist. Since
you may also be unfamiliar with your new ally’s
main issues, you may consider holding a joint
training session with their group. There you can
brief each other on each group’s specific concerns
and consider common themes together.
In addition there are other target groups to contact:
people who have power, such as legislators, the
media, potential adversaries, and also, the general
public. (See Campaign Tool 6 - Contacting people
and organisations for sample letter and a press
release).
You may want to find opportunities to get people
talking about how women are coping. For example,
hold a speak-out in public or on-line, or organise a
call-in radio interview. As you hear good stories,
ask for permission to share them in your campaign.
It is also important to involve people by asking
them to sign a petition or to write to their elected
representatives.
You may want to target a specific sector. For
example, a breastfeeding advocacy group in India
held a luncheon meeting for press people who cover
the “women’s news.” During lunch they briefed
this specialised press corps about breastfeeding,
maternity protection, and Cl83. In Bolivia a group
of medical students were starting a project to
distribute health information to rural community
leaders, teachers, and heads of mothers’
associations. A breastfeeding group trained more
than one hundred of these students on maternity
protection.
7
Lobbying: Lobbying is an important campaign activity
in maternity protection. It is a way of entering into
discussion with high officials, policy-makers and
decision-makers who are often considered to be
“unreachable”. Lobbying is a tool for getting
breastfeeding information to them, convincing them
of the importance of maternity protection and move
towards ratification of C183. Here are some useful
tips for lobbying:
• As government officials and political leaders are
often very busy it is important to carefully plan
and prepare the information you want to give them.
• It would be useful to be prepared for objections.
(See Campaign Tool 7 - Arguments and counter
arguments).
• Choose a time when the information you are
distributing will be relevant, for example, when a
maternity protection bill is being debated.
• Lobbying the right person with the right
information at the right time will prove fruitful.
For a concrete example of successful lobbying,
(Section 8 - Imaginative legislation, see the
advocacy strategy of the Bangladesh Breastfeeding
Foundation in extending the length of maternity
leave).
So Monitoring and evaluating the
work accomplished
Need to know what progress you are making
and the impact of your campaign
Monitoring your campaign is useful to measure the
progress of your campaign. It is important for the
campaign and good for the morale of the group to see
not only that you are “doing something,” but also
whether you are having the effect you wanted. As a
maternity protection campaign is a long-term project,
it will be necessary to break it into a number of steps
to keep your action group inspired. Short-term
accomplishments give a sense of progress and make
news that can be shared with your members, your
allies, your sponsors, and the public. If donors are
funding yourprojects/activities, you will need to show
them your results.
Evaluation is an important element of a campaign. It
will help the group to see if there were any problems
8
6a. NINE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
and what those problems were. Midway evaluation is
useful to ensure that the campaign is in the right
direction, and if not, to change plans accordingly.
Evaluation will also help to understand the strengths
and weaknesses of the group and will help to plan the
next campaign for better impact.
Step 9. Following up and reporting on
activities
A written report is a powerful tool for future
planning
It is useful to prepare a report, even if it is only a brief
one, for every project as it ends. The process of making
the report gives the writer a chance to think through
the planning and implementation processes and to
reflect upon ways to improve them.
When preparing a report, it is advisable to adopt a
standard format.
There are more ideas for campaigning in Maternity
Protection ILO Convention No. 183: a New Standard
for the New Century, 2001, the campaign kit that is
published by the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU)/ Public Services International
(PSI)/ Education International (El). Visit their website:
http://www.world-psi.org and the IMCH website:
http://www.kbh.uu.se/imch/education/groupwork.
PREPARING fl REPORT
•
•
The report serves many purposes. It is important to
document the various stages of the campaign process,
difficulties faced, solutions suggested and
implemented, changes made to original plans, gains
and losses, etc. Records of costs help prepare for future
budgeting. The report can be turned into a news write
up and shared with allies. A copy may be kept for
future planning or to be showcased as a good example
of how a campaign is organised.
NOTES
When and where did the project take place?
What was accomplished?
Who was involved in the project?
•
Who were the allies? Who were the adversaries?
•
What did it cost?
•
What were the objectives? How well were they
•
What still remains to be done?
•
What was learned from doing the project?
met?
•
What new ideas have resulted for new projects, or
for improving this one?
•
Should this project be repeated?
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
SECTION
9
6b
Campaign ‘u,®@Ds fei? ® Successful
Maternity Protection Campaign
Campaign Tool 1:
Rapid Assessment of Current Status of Maternity Protection in Zimbabwe
NO. QUESTIONS
ANSWERS
IA Is there a legislation on
Legislation on maternity protection is available in the Labour Relations Act for
maternity protection?
women workers in private Sector and the Public Services Regulations of 2000 for
civil servants.
IB Who is covered by legislation?
The provisions of the legislation cover all women workers - the law does not
exclude anyone. In practice the implementation differs depending on the employer.
It is known that women in the informal sector are often disadvantaged.
2A What is the duration of
maternity leave?
Maternity leave is for a period of 90 days. This can be taken 45 days before the
EDD and 45 days after delivery. A woman has to produce a medical certificate.
She may continue to work up to 21 days before the EDD subject to approval by
her head of the department. If due to the nature of her work, her head of
department may require her to leave earlier than the period stipulated. She is
then compelled to take annual or accrued vacation leave or leave without pay to
cover the extra period.
2B Is the period adequate to
90 days is not adequate to enable exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. However
enable exclusive breastfeeding
women can extend by using annual or accrued vacation leave or unpaid vacation
for 6 months?
leave.
3A Are breastfeeding breaks or
One hour or two half-hour breastfeeding breaks are provided for in the legislation.
reduction of working hours
They are remunerated. Their implementation is left to mutual agreement between
allowed?
the employee and the employer. A women can start an hour later or leave an
hour earlier or combine one half hour with lunch break and leave half an hour
earlier than normal. This is allowed until the baby reaches 6 months.
3B How are women managing?
Due to transport problems and cost, most women prefer to reduce work hours as
indicated above. The idea of expressing breastmilk and storing in a fridge or cool
place has not been investigated fully.
3C How could the above scenario
be set up if it is not available?
There is need to raise awareness amongst women about expressing breastmilk
and storing away for later use.
4A Are there institutions with
There is currently no known institution with such a facility. There may be need to
breastfeeding corners or
send out a questionnaire to various institutions to assess their attitude. The Ministry
facilities?
of Labour is supportive of us advocating amongst employers for the establishment
of breastfeeding corners.
continued next page
6b. CAMPAIGN TOOLS FOR ORGANISING A MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
10
continued from previous poge
Campaign Tool
Rapid Assessment of Current Status of Maternity Protection in Zimbabwe
NO. QUESTIONS_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ANSWERS_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4B What possibility is there of
This issue has not been explored, sufficiently. One NGO has indicated a willingness
establishing breastfeeding
to convert one room into a breastfeeding or breastmilk expression facility. While
corners or facilities at or near
this is commendable, there is need for awareness amongst women workers so
workplaces?
that they can demand through dialogue and negotiations a breastfeeding or
breastmilk expression facility at places of work.
5
How are maternity benefits
financed?
For public servants, maternity leave is fully paid by the employer. Women workers
in the private sector receive 60% of their pay, financed by the employer. A woman
who has worked for less than a year is entitled to unpaid maternity leave. The
same applies to a woman who has more than 3 permissible periods of maternity
leave (a period is every 24 months) unless she has accrued vacation leave.
6
Is ratification of ILO Convention
Existing laws and practice on maternity protection fall short of ILO Cl 83. The
183 possible?
current legislation still has 12 weeks duration for maternity leave. However, the
government is considering ratifying Cl 83, after Parliament passes the Labour
Amendment Bill which has taken on board most of the provisions of the new
convention.
7
What are the obstacles towards
ratification and
implementation?
The Labour Relations Act is currently in Parliament for amendment to include the
provisions of C 183. The major obstacle to ratification is the financing of maternity
benefits. The National Social Security Authority has been tasked to come up with
a Maternity Benefit Scheme. Their report is awaited.
8
Are any national activities or
campaigns on-going or being
The Maternity Protection focal point in conjunction with Ministry of Public Service
Labour and Social Welfare as well as Ministry of Health and Child Welfare had
planned in 2001-2003 and
planned some workshops to raise awareness amongst the tripartite partners.
who is arranging the activities?
Advocacy activities will be resumed this year, particularly sensitisation of women
employees on C 18S. A workshop on Social Security Convention 102 was planned
for May 2001. C 183 will also be on the agenda.
9
How can maternity protection
Initially it is important to produce user-friendly materials on maternity protection
issues be integrated into on
and keep the different programme managers or co-ordinators informed.
going programmes (e.g. BFHI,
Participation in their activities is important as well.
CRC, HIV/AIDS, etc.?)
10 If possible compare and
analyse the texts of the new
This exercise is useful and will be pursued. It can form the basis of background
materials for use in one of the workshops planned with the tripartite partners.
ILO Cl 83 and its accompany
ing Recommendation R191 with
existing national legislation as
well as SADC
recommendations.
This Rapid Assessment Tool was developed by the IBFAN Africa Technical Working Group: Amal Omer-Salim
of IMCH, Uppsala, Sweden (for technical support), Funny Kondolo, Charles Sagoe Moses, Barbara Tembo, Joyce
Chanetsa, under the coordination of Pauline Kisanga, Regional Coordinator, IBFAN Africa.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
11
Campaign Tool 2s
Key Questions and Methods for Data Collection
•
Collect copies of relevant legislation related to maternity protection in your country - laws, acts, ordinances,
decrees - as well as collective agreements between unions and employers.
•
Collect information about who is covered by the legislation. Do the same rules apply to workers in the public and
private sectors? What categories of women are excluded from the legislation, and what is done to include them? Do
some women work in Export Processing Zones where there is no protection whatsoever from labour laws? (These zones
are set up in developing countries under special rules that make them more attractive to foreign manufacturers and
investors.) Do any provisions exist for the informal sector? What conditions apply before women can use their entitlements
- length of service, number or spacing of pregnancies, medical certificate?
•
Information collected should also provide details of: what is the duration of maternity leave? What is the length of
leave before and after birth? Can women choose when to take their leave? Are there other types of leave that women
can use to extend their maternity leave, such as annual leave, casual leave, unpaid leave, parental or family leave?
•
Who finances maternity benefits? Is it the employer? Is there a social security scheme? Compulsory social insurance
or other public funds?
•
Health protection: How are workers informed about hazardous conditions in the workplace? Are women able to
•
Is there evidence of gender discrimination? Do women get equal pay for work of equal value (pay equity)? Are job
modify their work environment for better health and safety whilst pregnant or lactating?
applicants subjected to pregnancy testing or asked to give proof of sterilisation? Do women return to the same or
equivalent job after maternity leave?
•
Are women allowed breastfeeding breaks or a reduction of work hours at the start or end of the workday
because they are breastfeeding?
-
Are breastfeeding breaks counted as working time and paid?
How are women managing? Do they have accessible facilities for breastfeeding or expressing milk ("breastfeeding
corners")? Enough time? Support from colleagues and supervisors? Flexible schedules? A secure place to store
expressed milk? Do most women continue breastfeeding if they work full-time? Do most women know it is possible?
-
Find out which employers provide breastfeeding corners and make a list for future reference. These employers are
potential allies.
-
If there are no breastfeeding corners, how much interest would there be in setting up a reasonable accommodation
-
Are worksite creches available? Do women want creches at their workplace?
at or near the worksite?
•
You can interview people who are in a position to give their opinion about the feasibility/non-feasibility of your
country ratifying Cl 83. What steps would they suggest?
•
It is also crucial to ask if there are any on-going or planned national activities or campaigns regarding maternity
protection at the workplace. If there are none, how can maternity protection be integrated into other on-going programmes
in your country?
•
Your interviewee probably knows other experts you could meet. Try to leave each meeting with a few new names
and addresses, so as to continually extend your network.
This Rapid Assessment Tool was developed by the IB FAN Africa Technical Working Group: Amal OmerSalim of IMCH, Uppsala, Sweden (for technical support), Funny Kondolo, Charles Sagoe Moses, Barbara
Tembo, Joyce Chanetsa, under the coordination of Pauline Kisanga, Regional Coordinator, IB FAN Africa.
Campaign Tool 3: Comparison and Analysi of C183 with Nation;al Laws and Practic:es
1.C183
2. R191
Scope: All employed women
Maternity leave in case of
including those working in
adoption.
3. OUR COUNTY'S LAWS
4. COMMENTS
5. OUR OBJECTIVES
6. DETAILS_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
atypical forms of dependent
work.Certain categories of
workers can be excluded.
Women working in the informal
sector are excluded.
Maternity leave: Length: 14
18 weeks at least. Mothers
weeks, at least 6 weeks after
should be able to choose
confinement.
when they take their leave.
Additional leave: Sick leave
Paternity leave in case of
can be taken in case of illness.
hospitalisation or death of
mother. Parental leave for
either parent at the end of
maternity leave.
Conditions for leave: Medical
certificate.
Cash benefits: Level of benefits
100% of salary.
no less than 2/3 of salary.
Medical benefits: Free
prenatal, childbirth and
Free care.
postnatal care depending on
national law and practice.
Financial responsibility for
Contributions to maternity
benefits: Public funds except in
benefits are paid in proportion
exceptional cases.
to the total number of workers
in an enterprise.
Continued next page
Continued from previous page
CesmpsiisfM T©@! 3: Comparison and Analysis of C183 with National Laws and Practices
1.083
2. R191
Health protection: Pregnant
Women should be informed of
and lactating workers are not
risks. Alternative work should
obliged to perform work that is
be provided without loss of
a risk to mother or child.
pay-
Protection from dismissal and
Professional rights should be
discrimination: Unlawful to
continued during maternity
dismiss during pregnancy,
leave.
maternity leave and a period
after returning to work except if
maternity is not at cause. Upon
return to work, the woman is
entitled to the same position
and salary. No discrimination to
employed women or women
seeking employment based on
grounds of maternity (no
pregnancy tests).
Breastfeeding breaks: One or
Breaks should be adapted to
more breaks per day or
needs of mother and child.
reduction in length of working
Mother should be able to
day.
choose to reduce length of
work day rather than take
breastfeeding breaks during
work hours.
Breastfeeding facilities:
Facilities set up at or near the
workplace
3. OUR COUNTY'S LAWS
4. COMMENTS
5. OUR OBJECTIVES
6. DETAILS_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
T@©0 4s Country Plan of Action - Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Maternity Protection Action Plan: 2001 - 2003
Overall goal: Enhanced breastfeeding through improved maternity protection for working women
LEVEL
OBJECTIVE
PROBLEM/OBSTACLE
STRATEGY
ACTIVITIES
ACTORS
National
Advocate for
Financing of maternity
1. To understand the
1. Meetings/ seminars
Min of Labour
1. Clarification and
ratification and
benefits
process of setting up a
with key stakeholders
EXPECTED OUTCOME
NSSA
appreciation of the
implementation of
maternity benefits
Min of Health
process
MPC 183
scheme
Min of Finance
Trade unions
Employers Org
Women's Org
2. Develop an
2. Lobby for speeding
appropriate
up of the process
Min of Labour
2. Maternity benefit
NSSA
scheme set up
intervention strategy to
Min of Health
influence the process
Min of Finance
in 1 above
Trade unions
Employers Org
Women's Org
3. Inclusion of
3. Appropriate input
Min of Labour
3. Ratification of C
provision of C 183 in
into the process
NSSA
183
Labour Relations
Min of Health
amendment Bill
Min of Finance
Trade unions
Employers Org
Women's Org
Lack of awareness of
4. Awareness Creation
4.1. Comparative
All relevant
Sensitised/ informed
Maternity Protection
programmes
analysis of national
stakeholdersgroup on
workers
legislation against C
MPC
Legislation by workers
183
Continued next page
Continued from previo js page
Campaign T ool 4: Country P an of Action - Zini babwe
Zimbabwe Matentity Protection Actio i Plan: 2001 - 2003
Overall goal: Enllanced breastfeeding through improved ? tatemity protection J'or working women
LEVEL
OBJECTIVE
PROBLEM/OBSTACLE
STRATEGY
ACTIVITIES
ACTORS
EXPECTED OUTCOME
Training package
4.2. Integrate C 183
National
into planned workshop
onC 102
5. Training
5.1. Development of
Local team + working
programmes
training materials/
group on MPC
package
5.2. Training/
orientation of trainers
of other progs e.g.
breastfeeding
counsellors
6. Feasibility study into
6.1. Developments of
Local team + working
provision of
study instruments
group on MPC
breastfeeding corners/
facilities
6.2.Setting up of pilot
facility
Local team 4- working
Study done
group on MPC
Local team + working
Pilot facility set up
group on MPC
Working Group
Level
Provision of technical support
Provision of generic training
material
Support in advocacy activities
Regional Level
Provision of seedgrants
Global Level
Provision of technical information
Facilitation of technical inputs
Support with seedgrants
Provision of technical information
Assist in capacity building of
national teams
6b. CAMPAIGN TOOLS FOR ORGANISING A MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
16
Campaign Tool 5: Sample Survey - Maternity and Work
Reproduced with permission from Maternity Protection ILO Convention C 183: A New Standard for the New Century. Ferney
Voltaire Cedex (Francej/Bruxelles/Bruxelles: Public Services International/ International Confederation of Free Trade Unions/
Education International, 2001 pages 29-34.
Section 1 - General Information
1.
2.
3.
How old are you?
under 20
□20-25
□25-30
Where do you work?
Industry
Company name
Are you employed?
Full time
Part time
35-40
30-35
40 +
Department-----------------------------
Casual
On a piecework system
Temporary
As a home based worker
4.
What is the name or title of your job?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.
Does your workplace have:
Mostly male employees
Q Mostly female employees
About the same number
of male and female employees
Section 2 - Pregnancy and Employment
1.
Have you ever been pregnant while employed?
Yes
No
(if no, go to question 3)
If yes, how many times? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
What was your employer's reaction to finding out you were pregnant?
Supportive
Unsupportive
Please give examples
3.
____________________________________________________
While you were pregnant at work, did you need to request light duties or be transferred to a safe job?
Yes
No
If yes, did you experience any difficulty with this request?
Yes
No
If yes, why?
4.
________________ __________________________________
Were you transferred to another post due to your pregnancy in an unnecessary manner? For example, were
you moved to a lesser paid or less senior position when there was no apparent reason for this.
Yes
No
If yes, please give details
_______________________________________________
_
_
____________________________________
Continued next page
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
17
continued from previous page
T@@i 5: Sample Survey - Maternity and Work
5.
Did you need to take time off work as a result of/during your pregnancy?
Q Yes
6.
Q No
Did you experience any difficulty with your employer in taking time off work?
Q Yes
Q No
If yes, please explain
7.
_________
Prior to becoming pregnant, were you aware of your rights and obligations in relation to maternity leave?
Q Yes
Q No
Did you get this information from:
Others, please specify
8.
I Work colleagues
I
I
I Your union
Your employer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did your employer know his/her rights and obligations in relation to maternity leave?
Q Yes
Q No
If no, what difficulties, if any, did you experience because of this?
9.
Was your maternity leave
I
I Paid
OR
I
I unpaid
OR
I I both paid and unpaid
If paid, how long was the paid period and what level of payment
did you receive (eg. 100% of previous income for 3 months etc)
10.
Did you have any difficulties accessing medical and/or midwifery services including prenatal, childbirth and
postnatal care?
Yes
No
If yes, please provide details of these difficulties ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.
Did you experience any difficulties when returning from maternity leave?
Q Yes
Q No
If yes, please give details
12.
When returning to work from maternity leave, did you return to your previous post?
Yes
No
If not, why not?
13.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- —-----------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
When returning from maternity leave, did you seek agreement from your employer to return part-time?
Q Yes
Q No
Were they any problems and/or obstacles about returning to work on a part-time basis?
Continued next page
6b. CAMPAIGN TOOLS FOR ORGANISING A MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
18
continued from previous page
Campaign T@©8 S: Sample Survey - Maternity and Work
14.
15.
16.
Did you breastfeed your baby?
Q Yes
Q No
For how long did you breastfeed your baby?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you breastfed your baby, did you continue to do this when you returned to work?
Q
Yes
Q
No
1 7. If you continued to breastfeed when you returned to work, did you breastfeed/express at the workplace?
Yes
18.
No
If you breastfed or expressed milk at the workplace, what facilities were made available to assist you?
(eg private room, washing facilities, storing facilities, etc)
19.
How long were you offered as breastfeeding breaks and were those breaks considered as working time and
paid accordingly?
Length of time every day:
20.
Q Yes
I
If you did not continue to breastfeed when you returned to work, was the attitude of your employer or the
lack of facilities at your workplace a reason for stopping?
Q| Yes
If yes, please provide details
21.
I No
No
__________________
Please give information about any other experience you had during pregnancy at work (supportive/
unsupportive workmates etc)
Section 3 - Discrimination
1.
Do you believe you have been discriminated against because you were pregnant or have the potential to fall
pregnant, or because you are a mother, in any of the following areas:
Q Advertising and recruiting
Q In the terms and conditions of
I I
for positions
employment
Training
Promotion
Termination of employment
Please give details
2.
___ ____________________
Have work practices and/or conditions of employment in your workplace affected your decision to have,
or not to have children?
Yes
If yes, why?
n
No
n Not relevant
___________
Continued next page
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
19
continued from previous page
Campaign T@©0 S: Sample Survey - Maternity and Work
Thank you for filling this survey. In June 2000, the International Labour Organisation adopted ILO Convention No 183 on
Maternity Protection. The international trade union movement is carrying out a campaign to convince national governments
to ratify this Convention and ensure that the minimum standards contained within the Convention are a reality for all working
women.
Your union is part of this campaign. The information provided by you in this survey will assist your union. If you would like to
receive more information on maternity rights for working women or be part of the campaign, please fill out the details below:
OPTIONAL
Name______________________ ___ __________________________________________________________________________
Address----------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Work phone
-------------------------------------------------------------
Email address -------------------------------------------------------------
Adapted with thanks from the Maternity and Work Survey of the Australian Service Union.
Campaign T@©!
Contacting People and Organisations
Here is a list of important government institutions,
groups and people that you may decide to contact in
the course of your campaign. It can be used to draw
up your specific list and a plan for contacting them
during the different phases of your campaign.
There are also a model letter to be addressed to people
who should be or are supporting your campaign and a
draft press release.
1) Important addresses
Each letter should be personalised and written to a
specific person. If you do not know the name, you
should check it out. Letters may be sent to Ministry or
State Departments of Health, Labour Social Welfare,
Women's Affairs, the social security authority,
political parties, trade unions, employers' associations,
human rights organisations, legal rights, development
and women's groups, ILO representatives, university
women's studies or gender programmes, church
organisations, companies, well-known artistes and
film, music or sports personalities as well as the media.
2) Model letters
A letter is the way to place one's concerns before a
person, usually a person in a position to make or
influence decisions, and to invite his/her response. The
following points will be of use when writing letters:
• Target the person you feel most likely to be
receptive. Before you write, you should learn about
this person's mandate and particular interests in
relation to maternity protection at the workplace.
• Start a productive and open dialogue to inform her/
him of your concerns, adapting to the national
situation with specific, down to the point
observations or remarks, using her/his mandate as
a point of departure.
• Explain who you are (describe your group) and why
maternity protection at work and breastfeeding are
important to you. You may want to add a flyer
describing your organisation or the Maternity
Protection Coalition.
6b. CAMPAIGN TOOLS FOR ORGANISING A MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
20
DRAFT LETTER FOR RATIFICATION OF ILO CONVENTION 183
(MINISTRIES, DEPUTY, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC POLITICAL FIGURE, ETC.)
Minister of Labour
Ministry of Women's Affairs (or others)
Re: Ratification of C 183 Maternity Protection Convention, 2000
Dear Mrs., Mr.
On behalf of our organisation [name], which is part of the Maternity Protection Coalition
,
*
I am writing
in regard to ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No 183), which was adopted by the International
Labour Conference in June 2000. Since its adoption four countries (Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania)
have ratified the Convention.
As advocates of women's and children's rights to optimal health and nutrition, we support and protect
optimal breastfeeding practices and defend women's rights to equality and non-discrimination both in
society and in the workplace.
The Constitution of the ILO requires that Member States bring the Convention before the competent
national authority for the enactment of legislation. We request you to please inform us about the steps
your Ministry has taken in this direction.
/or/
Considering your involvement in women's rights/chlldren's issues/publlc health and nutrition matters,
and your commitment to improving the working conditions of women workers and to enabling women to
both work and bring up healthy children, we would like you to inform us of the steps you have taken
towards ratification of this Convention and/or improving our federal/national/provlncial/communal
legislation on maternity protection at the workplace.
In addition, we would be interested to learn what specific legislation - as well as what changes - are
being considered to comply with the provisions of ILO Convention 183 - Maternity Protection Convention,
2000.
We would be extremely grateful if you could provide us with information on the consultative process set
up in our country to review the ratification of ILO C 183. How can national NGOs and other Interested
groups participate actively in such a process? We would like to request a meeting to discuss these
matters and look forward to your early response.
Yours sincerely,
Your name and position/title
[You should use your group's stationery, or a stamp of your organisation,.]
• Maternity Protection Coalition: constituted in 1998 to campaign for the adoption of ILO Convention 183. The
following organisations and networks are part of the Coalition: IBPAN - International Baby Food Action Network,
ILCA - International Lactation Consultant Association, LINKAGES, and WABA - World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action. IMCH - International Maternal and Child Health (University of Uppsala, Sweden) and UNICEF - United
Nations Children's Fund, provide technical assistance.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
3) Press releases
Press releases are used to disseminate important
information as widely as possible. They may announce
a press conference, the launching of a document or
campaign, any other event, or even some basic news.
They are very carefully worded, precise, and accurate.
Press releases are most often sent to the media
(newspapers, news agencies, radio channels and
television companies) which may even quote directly
from the texts received. But they can also be sent to
government ministries and other organisations to act
as flyers announcing an event or a campaign. Press
releases may also be put on to an organisation's
website.
21
Information provided in a press release should have
documentation from scientific studies to back health
assertions and also relevant information such as dates,
location of events, contact name, email addresses,
websites, etc. It should not go beyond a page or two.
Press releases may be sent to: media (newspapers,
radio channels, television companies, press agencies),
websites and electronic mailing lists, trade unions,
government ministries and departments, ILO regional
offices and NGOs and professional bodies that may
use your information in their newsletter.
DRAH PRESS RELEASE TO LAUNCH THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR RATIFICATION
Campaign Launched to Support Maternity Protection for Working Women
Today the [name] orgamsation/association, which is part of the International Maternity Protection Coalition
*
(MPG)
launched a campaign designed to promote the rights of pregnant women and women returning to work
after childbirth. Ms. XXX said that the campaign “aims to make maternity protection for working women a
reality in the 81st century.” In [this country name] the following organisations are involved in the campaign:
[complete list].
The first priority of the national campaign is to gain the commitment of our government to ratify International
Labour Organization Convention 183, known as ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000. The ILO Convention,
which was adopted in June 2000, took more than two years to negotiate. It has been ratified by Slovakia, Italy,
Bulgaria and Romania, and entered into force on 7 February 2002. “This is the internationally recognised
minimum protection that should be available to all women who work,” stated Ms. XXX.
“It is imt.hinka.hia that in the 21st century we still hear stories from women who meet with harassment and
discrimination in the workplace whilst they are pregnant or if they continue breastfeeding when they go back
to work. The ILO Convention addresses all these points,” said Ms XXX.
The main forms of protection that are Included in the Convention are:
• the right to at least 14 weeks maternity leave;
• income replacement during maternity leave, at a standard equal to two-thirds or more of the
woman's previous earnings;
• the right to medical benefits, including prenatal, childbirth and postnatal care;
• protection from dismissal and discrimination;
• protection from health risks to mother and/or baby during pregnancy or lactation;
• the right to daily breastfeeding breaks Cor to a shorter workday) upon returning to work.
“Maternity protection as outlined in ILO Convention No 183 benefits all of society. Families should not
have to choose between the mother's income and a healthy start for their babies. The Convention also allows
for more rights for working women with regard to their jobs during pregnancy and after birth. Damaging and
diserlminatoiy behaviour are Illegal,” said Ms. XXX.
“This campaign has been launched to make maternity rights a reality in our country. We strongly encourage
our government to ratify Convention 183 and to Improve our national maternity protection laws. With our
allies, we will campaign to increase public awareness and to improve workplace practices,” concluded Ms.
XXX.
For more information, please contact: (your organisation's address, phone and/or email].
• Maternity Protection Coalition: constituted in 1998 to campaign for the adoption of ILO Convention, 2000 on Maternity Protection (So 183).
The following organisations and networks are part of the Coalition: IBFAN - International Baby Food Action Hetwork, ILCA - Internationa!
Lactation Consnitant Association, LINKAGES, and WABA - World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. IMCH - International Maternal and Child
Health (University of Uppsala, Sweden) and UHICBF - United Nations Children's Fund, provide technical assistance
6b. CAMPAIGN TOOLS FOR ORGANISING A MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
22
Campaign Tool 7?
Arguments and Counter Arguments
Prepare ahead of time before lobbying or meeting with potential adversaries. Try to anticipate their concerns and be
ready with some responses.
IF THEY SAY THIS:
Employers lose productivity when
women take maternity leave.
YOU CAN ANSWER THIS:
Productivity must be seen in the long term, not only short term. Employers lose
productivity when workers take leave because of illness, injury, disability, or military
service. Unlike many of these kinds of absences from the workplace, maternity
leave can be scheduled ahead of time, so the employer can plan ahead. As maternity
leave safeguards the health of women and babies, and this benefits all citizens,
including employers.
Employers will avoid hiring women
Women are valuable employees who have much to contribute. Their work is essential
if they have to cover extra costs for
in many workplaces. Maternity protection (MP) laws make it more possible for
maternity benefits.
them to participate in the workplace.Maternity protection laws must share the costs
of childbearing - of bringing forth the next generation of workers - among employers,
workers, and government. No sector should carry the entire burden. Where there
are no MP laws, or where MP is inadequate, the women and the babies pay extra
“costs" because they experience higher stress and sub-optimal health.
Employers lose productivity when
Employers lose productivity when parents miss work to take care of sick children.
women take nursing breaks.
Sustained breastfeeding after the mother's return to work helps keep her baby
healthy, especially if the baby is cared for in a group setting.Nursing breaks can be
scheduled. You can't plan ahead for children's illness. After taking a nursing break,
a lactating mother returns to her assignment more comfortable, more confident,
and ready to work more productively.
Nursing breaks are too disruptive
The time needed for nursing breaks is greatest in the early days back at work after
to the flow of the workday.
maternity leave. As the baby gels older, less time is needed. Disruption can be
minimised by giving the worker good support. Nursing breaks may also be combined
as a reduction of work hours at the beginning or end of the day
Child-care at the workplace
Nursing mothers don't need care for older children, just for infants, and possibly
is too expensive.
for toddlers. Younger children do not require as much space or as much equipment
as pre-school children. Perhaps a compromise can be found: the employer supplies
a space, and the employee provides the care-giver. Perhaps the caregiver simply
brings the baby to visit its mother in a pre-arranged place at a pre-arranged time.
If we give women all these benefits,
Women and families may make a free and informed decision about having children
they will have too many babies.
on the basis of many factors. Benefits are there to protect women’s and children's
health. If there were no benefits, women would still have babies, and the health
risks would be higher.
Employers who have many female
The costs of MP must be shared among all workers, employers, and government.
employees will be at a competitive
An employer who provides better MP benefits attracts better and more loyal workers
disadvantage if they have to provide
and will thus have a competitive advantage compared to others.
MP.
continued next page
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
23
Continued from previous page
Campaign
7s
Arguments and Counter Arguments
IF THEY SAY THIS:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ YOU CAN ANSWER THIS:
Three US insurance companies have published cost/benefit data about providing
Nursing breaks would cost employers
breastfeeding support. Kaiser Permanente in Southern California covered
too much
breastfeeding services for their clients. Breastfeeding duration rose 37% at 2 weeks,
70% at 2 months, 82% at 4 months, and 67% at 6 months. At the same time,
hospital admission rates fell from 1.5% of covered newborns to 0.5%. Babies made
fewer clinic visits as well.
The Aetna company offers breastfeeding support to its own employees. They estimate
that the return on investment (ROI) for this programme is 2.18 to 1, based on a
cost model used in industry research which has demonstrated a reduction in medical
costs and time lost from work due to infant illness in the first year following a baby's
birth. A survey of participating employees (with a 57% return rate on the survey)
found that 90% said the programme helped with a smooth transition back to work
and 88% said that it contributed to their satisfaction with working at Aetna.
The Cigna company studied its lactation support programme and reported annual
savings of US$60,000 from reduced absenteeism among the breastfeeding
employees. Compared to the bottle-feeding mothers, they lost 77% less time through
absences from work. Formula-fed babies of employees went to the doctor for illness
1.8 times more often than the breastfed babies, and the breastfed babies needed
62% fewer prescriptions.
24
6b. CAMPAIGN TOOLS FOR ORGANISING A MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
NOTES
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women's right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation
and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements.
IBFAN/G1FA, C.P. 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-798 4443 Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive,
Suite 102, NC Raleigh, 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181
Fax:919-787-4916
Email: info@ilca.org Website: www.ilca.org
•
International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University,
University Hospital, Entrance 11.5-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115985 Fax:46-18-508013 • The LINKAGES Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Tel: 202-884-8000
Fax:202-884-8977 Email: linkages@aed.org Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SECTION
Showcasing
Imaginative Legislation
Here are some selected examples to show how
countries are dealing imaginatively through legislation
with various contentious aspects of maternity
protection at the workplace.
In each country example, the focus is on one or several
aspects of maternity protection at work. It is interesting
to see how advocacy has served to bring about
improvements in legislation and ratification.
1. Maternity protection for domestic
workers: Sudan
As a group, domestic workers systematically get left
out of maternity protection laws. The Sudanese
Association for Breastfeeding Action (SABA) is
working for a revision of the Domestic Servants Act
of 1955. Together with women's organisations and
other stakeholders, SABA is advocating for the
provision of at least eight weeks of paid maternity
leave for house servants.
For further information, contact Negeya Sadiq at
email: negeyasadig@usa.net
and ensure their access to resources in order to achieve
optimal health for themselves and allow them to
sustain breastfeeding.
In February 1997, an application on maternity
protection at work was sent to the Secretary of the
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. After a year
of negotiations another application was forwarded,
proposing the extension of maternity leave. In March
1999, BBF raised the issue of extending maternity
leave through a letter to the Prime Minister.
From 1997 to 2001, BBF helped to publish newspaper
articles on maternity protection at work. This created
awareness among the public regarding the importance
of extending maternity leave for working women. BBF
also advocated at the Women's Council and helped to
organise electronic media discussions on the subject.
Moreover, BBF took an active part in the ILO
Maternity Protection Campaign in 2000 by organising
seminars for women in employment.
BBF also lobbied at the ministries regularly. The issue
had to reach approval by the Prime Minister's office
2. Extending maternity leave: Bangladesh and the Ministries of Women and Children Affairs,
The Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF) has Establishment, and Finance.
been working as a national agency to protect, promote
and support breastfeeding since 1989. One of its seven Lobbying with the Ministry of Women and Children
sub-committees, the Working Women sub-committee, Affairs took eighteen months in the first phase. At the
worked towards enabling working mothers to beginning, BBF officials visited the Ministry every
breastfeed by establishing creches, or by obtaining week; after two months, the visits had become daily
breastfeeding breaks and permission for mothers to routine, but very little progress was made.
take their children to the workplace, and extending
maternity leave from three months to four months.
Changing tactics, BBF decided to lobby the Prime
Minister. After six months, he forwarded the proposal
The Dhaka Declaration on Breastfeeding, adopted in to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. This
1991, stated that all government policies and time it took two months to send the proposal on to the
programmes would be formulated to empower women Ministry of Establishment with a favourable note.
7. SHOWCASING IMAGINATIVE LEGISLATION
BBF lobbied the Ministry of Establishment twice a
week for one month, until the Ministry forwarded the
proposal to the Ministry of Finance - again with a
favourable note. The same lobbying process then took
place at the Ministry of Finance almost every day for
two months, and then once a week for nineteen long
months.
Finally, on the 9th of July 2001, the Government of
Bangladesh approved the new legislation issuing the
“Government Order on maternity leave for four
months.” In addition to being entitled to a longer leave,
mothers can now take their leave flexibly, before and
after delivery, or only after delivery.
This is a fine example of how persistent lobbying
helped in extending maternity leave. Due to BBF’s
advocacy work in raising awareness in the health
sector, women's health issues which were neglected
before, now receive higher priority.
For more information contact: Shaheen Sultana at
email: bbf@spaninn.com
3.
Financing benefits: Australia
A Sydney-based newspaper dated 1 July 2002
reported; A government-subsidised paid maternity
leave scheme is being considered in Australia “but it
won't extend to wealthy families”, the Minister for
Family and Community Services, Amanda Vanstone,
said in June, 2002.
Senator Vanstone told Channel 9 she was anxious to
ensure that any government assistance “didn't end up
being a payment basically to people who are extremely
well-off.”
Those sentiments go against the proposals from the
Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Pru Goward, who
has proposed 12 weeks’ paid maternity leave to be
financed by a combination of government, business
and employees, at a cost of $AUS 300 million a year.
Adapted from a story by Tom Allard and Ellen
Connolly, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia. July
1 2002
4.
Financing benefits: Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is considering ratifying ILO Convention
183 as soon as a financing mechanism for maternity
benefits is put in place.
In 2001, the National Social Security Authority
(NSSA) of Zimbabwe was asked to come up with a
proposal for a Maternity Benefits Scheme to form part
of the overall Social Security, along the principles of
social insurance under the “Pensions and Other
Benefits Scheme.”
The approved scheme would also be designed to
ensure that small businesses would not bear any
financial burden. However, some cabinet ministers are
opposed to a paid maternity leave scheme of any kind.
Under Social Insurance, the “Maternity Benefits
Scheme,” a short-term cash benefit, will be paid to a
woman whilst on maternity leave as an income
replacement during that period of leave. Every member
of the "Pensions and Other Benefits Scheme" will
automatically contribute to the Maternity Benefit
Scheme for the benefit of childbearing women who
are members of the scheme. Employers will also
contribute to this scheme.
The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, said
that he supported the “concept” of paid maternity
leave, which only 38% of working women receive
currently, either through workplace agreements or
through industrial awards. In Australia, all women are
entitled to one year of unpaid maternity leave.
A woman will qualify for the "Maternity Benefits
Scheme" after a contributory period of one year. She
will receive benefits for a subsequent pregnancy after
at least two further years of contribution. These
conditions are the same as those of the Labour
Relations Act.
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
The NSSA has proposed that a woman be paid the
full amount of her previous earnings. This proposal is
currently under consultation by stakeholders. Although
the timetable for consultation has gone beyond the
planned deadline, it is important that sufficient time
be given to this process, as it is critical to the
ratification of the 1LO Convention.
3
For further information contact Joyce Chanetsa at
email: jchanets@mweb.co.zw
The second phase of the campaign will cover the
problems related to the period after the child is born.
This phase will be called “Children and Work:
Parenthood.” Furthermore the Equal Opportunities
Ombudsman is proposing that the gender equity
legislation (or the parental leave legislation) be
expanded to include a direct prohibition of
discrimination, not only on the basis of sex, ethnicity
and sexual preference, as is the case now, but also on
the basis of parenthood.
5. Non-discrimination and employment
protection: Sweden
For further information contact Amal Omer-Salim at
email: Amal.Omer-Salim@ich.uu.se
Non-discrimination and employment protection are
covered by various regulations and legislation in
Sweden today, such as, Equal Opportunities Act,
Parental Leave Legislation, Employment Protection
Legislation, EU Maternity Protection Directive (92/
85), EU Supreme Court Praxis, a Proposed
Amendment to the EU Equal Rights Directive (76/207).
In spite of this quite comprehensive legal protection,
discrimination of women in employment is not
uncommon in Sweden today. Recent reports from trade
union surveys indicate that one third of women are
asked during the job interview about their plans for
having children. The number of reported cases of
gender discrimination in employment has also
increased dramatically over the past few years.
To counteract this alarming trend, the Swedish Equal
Opportunities Ombudsman has recently started a
campaign called “Children and Work: 9 Months”
which aims to:
• inform the public of their relevant rights and
regulations;
• inform and actively influence employers, trade
unions and political decision makers to stop
discrimination in respect to pregnancy;
• change attitudes so that pregnancy and childbirth
are considered to be normal life processes rather
than work-related problems.
6.
Breastfeeding breaks: Belgium
Belgium's maternity protection law came into force
in July 2002. It specifies in great detail a breastfeeding
woman's rights in the workplace, with seven chapters
and eleven articles solely on breastfeeding breaks.
Since trade unionists in many European countries
report that breastfeeding breaks are a barrier to
ratification of ILO C183, the Belgian model may point
toward a solution. However, some details of the
Belgian law, for instance the monthly medical
certificate and the limitation of breastfeeding breaks
to the first seven months after birth, would be too
restrictive for countries where breaks are already wellaccepted features of maternity protection at work.
The new Belgian Labour Collective Agreement No
80 gives women working under contract in the private
and the public sector the right to breastfeed or to
express their milk during work hours. Breastfeeding
breaks are paid by the national health insurance at the
same rate as maternity leave (82% of salary). They
are considered work time, meaning that employees
do not lose their rights to seniority, advancement, etc.
The worker is entitled to breastfeed and/or to express
her milk in specific premises set up by the employer.
The premises have to be private, well ventilated, well
lit, clean, appropriately heated, and equipped for the
mother to lie down to rest. They are generally located
4
in or very close to the undertaking, but in certain
circumstances, they can be in the employer's home.
In shopping centres, the premises can be shared by
the employees of several employers.
The period of each breastfeeding break is 30 minutes.
Employees are entitled to a 30-minute break for a
period of at least four hours of work; and to two periods
of 30 minutes each or one period of 60 minutes after
at least seven and one half hours of work. Employees,
together with the employer, can decide when to take
these breaks. Workers are allowed to take
breastfeeding breaks for a total of seven months from
the time of the infant's birth (this period can be
extended in exceptional circumstances). Employees
7. SHOWCASING IMAGINATIVE LEGISLATION
must inform their employer of their intention to take
the breaks and must prove by means of a monthly
medical certificate that they are still breastfeeding.
From the time the employee announces her intention
to take the breaks till one month after she is no longer
entitled to them, she cannot be dismissed for reasons
linked either to her health or to the fact that she is
breastfeeding.
For more information, the full text, in French and in
Flemish, is on <http://194.7.188.126/justice/
index_fr.htm> (in French: Sources de droit/Moniteur
Belge/frangais/nouvelle recherche/pause d’allaitement
in mots du texte/liste/ and click on 2002012072).
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MFC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation
and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements.
IBFAN/GIFA, C.P. 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-798 4443 Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive,
Suite 102, NC Raleigh, 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181 Fax: 919-787-4916 Email: info@ilca.org Website: www.ilca.org •
International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University,
University Hospital, Entrance 11, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115985 Fax:46-18-508013 • The LINKAGES Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 202-884-8000
Fax:202-884-8977 Email: linkages@aed.org Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200. 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Showcasing Creative
Workplace Solutions
Here are some examples of how improved maternity
protection conditions can be created through
workplace policies.
1. Canada - Commitment to workplace
support
“Peterborough workplaces rise to the challenge!
Twenty-four local employers acknowledged their sup
port for breastfeeding, and made a commitment to
provide supportive workplace practices to help women
to continue breastfeeding upon their return to work.
During July and August (2001), the Peterborough
Breastfeeding Coalition challenged local workplaces
to support breastfeeding by providing a private, clean
location for breastfeeding, or pumping breastmilk, and
by being willing to discuss a woman's plans for
breastfeeding upon her return to work. Workplaces
shared the practices that they offer employees. The
most important practices are: a willingness to discuss
a woman's infant feeding plan prior to her maternity
leave; and determining ways to accommodate her plan
once she returns to work. Accommodation may in
clude: flexible hours, job sharing, part-time hours, a
private, clean and comfortable location for
breastfeeding or expressing breastmilk; and an ex
tended lunch or breaks which can be made up at other
times.”
Source: Family-Friendly Workplaces Newsletter, Vol.
1 No. 1, Fall 2001. Child Health Programme of the
Peterborough County-City Health Unit of Ontario,
Canada.
2. Mexico - Worksite breastfeeding
programme
Mexican labour laws provide mothers with two 30minute nursing breaks per day after they return to
work. Maternity leave is twelve weeks, but six weeks
must be taken before the baby’s due date, leaving only
a short six weeks for mother and baby to establish a
good breastfeeding routine.
Lactation consultant Roberta Graham de Escobedo
found that many women in her province of Yucatan
were not aware of their right to breastfeeding breaks.
She visited a factory owner to propose setting up a
worksite breastfeeding programme, which would
support the workers while at the same time help the
employer to comply with the national law. Once he
had agreed, Roberta trained the supervisors and
managers on the new programme.
Under the new “corporate lactation” programme she
has developed, Roberta visits the factory to tell each
new group of pregnant workers how they will be able
to continue breastfeeding when they return to work.
The company provides breast pumps and a place for
expressing milk; Roberta provides support.
The university, the mayor’s office, a newspaper with
the largest circulation in the province and many
factories in Yucatan are now mother-friendly
workplaces that provide lactation support. Roberta is
amused that her first programme, which is still going
strong, was in a factory that sews brassieres.
Source: Roberta Graham de Escobedo, personal
communication.
3.
New Zealand - Parental leave
The following examples have been taken from the
EEO Trust Awards for employers implementing good
parent and mother-friendly policies at the workplace.
2
8. SHOWCASING CREATIVE WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS
“Ford Motor Company of New Zealand work and life
policies were initiated three years ago by the need to
retain a pregnant woman staff member. Now all
salaried employees are eligible for flexible part-time
work upon the birth or adoption of a child, as well as
if a direct family member requires care. There is also
the option of work from home (telecommuting)...”
“Manaaki Whenua (Landcare Research) is one of the
first organisations to provide paid parental
leave...Their staff with newborn children receive
financial support (six weeks paid maternity leave and
two weeks paid parental leave)... thus easing the
pressure to return to work. They also operate a flexible
leave scheme that allows staff to buy additional leave,
or take it without pay.”
At HortResearch, "... staff on parental leave now
accrue annual and sick leave, effectively giving an
additional three to four weeks paid leave to those
taking twelve months parental leave. HortResearch
also provides a dependent care allowance to cover any
child, dependent family or elder care costs if staff need
to travel ... There is also a nanny network... The
charges ...are reimbursed through a claim form.”
For more information, visit website:
http://www.parentscentre.org.nz/
babies_and_preschoolers/4-5yrs/cflexible_workplace....
4. The Philippines - Creche at the
workplace
Arugaan is a Filipino NGO involved in breastfeeding
protection, promotion, and support. In the Filipino
language “Arugaan” means “to nurture fully and with
commitment.” Arugaan’s ten-hour creche/day care
programme at PIA (Philippine Information Agency)
serves as a support system for working mothers with
infants and toddlers.
How maternity protection was translated
into an Arugaan creche at the PIA
workplace
The government employees’ union petitioned the PIA
management for day-care at the workplace. They
attributed problems of interrupted work and low
productivity to lack of childcare support for workers.
PIA management called in Arugaan, and a number of
consultative meetings were held, during which
department directors, parents and employees discussed
a creche programme. A creche for twelve infants and
toddlers was outfitted through cooperation between
PIA management and the parents. A few office
departments contributed supplies like crayons,
coloured pens, and paper.
Since the beginning of the programme, the Human
Resources Development office has served as the
liaison with Arugaan. Money from gender and
development funds covers 75 per cent of the creche
fees, and the parents contribute 25 per cent. Arugaan
provides the programme and services, including staff
and trained caregivers. There is no management fee,
but in order to cover expenses, Arugaan accepts a few
children from outside of PIA.
Going beyond maternity protection at the
workplace creche
Mothers visit the creche during breastfeeding breaks.
Some mothers express their milk and send it to the
creche for cup feeding when their work takes them
outside the home office.
Breastfeeding women support each other at the creche,
where informal breastfeeding counselling is the norm.
The creche is a showcase for appropriate feeding
practices; indigenous foods are given as
complementary foods to babies over six months and
to toddlers, thus developing good eating habits. The
creche serves as a forum where parents discuss topics
such as reproductive health rights, parental leave,
parenting skills, and the need to extend the Philippines'
eight weeks' paid maternity leave to 14 weeks.
The creche also has become a training centre for
women who wish to develop skills as caregivers or
childcare specialists. The Department of Social
Welfare and Development, which is in charge of
institutional pre-school day care programmes, has sent
their staff for skills upgrading at Arugaan. Many
former trainees now have their own businesses or run
community-based creches and day care centres.
For more information, contact Ines Fernandez at email:
arugaan @mozcom.com
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
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The World’s Women: Trends and Statistics 1995. New
York: United Nations, 1995. 120 p.
The Breastfeeding Information Group Newsletter. Bi
monthly. The newsletter helps breastfeeding counsellors
Yasmeen G. “Workers in the Urban ‘Informal’ Food Sector:
in the organisation keep up on current activities of the group.
innovative organizing strategies”, in Food, Nutrition and
The emphasis is on practical information and on sharing
Agriculture, 29, 2001.
information. Available from: Breastfeeding Information
Group, P. O. Box 59436, Nairobi, Kenya.
Yee, Virginia and Dilrini Ranatunga. Women’s Rights to
Maternity Protection: information for action.
The Compleat Mother Magazine. Quarterly. A magazine
Washington D.C.: The Clearinghouse on Infant Feeding
of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, promoting
and Maternal Nutrition American Public Health
natural parenting methods. Subscription Rate: USS 12 per
Association. 1996. 85p.
year. Available from: The Compleat Mother Magazine,
5703 Hillcrest, Richmond, IL 60071 USA. Tel: 815-6787531.
email:
greg@rsg.org,
www.compleatmother.com
Website:
http://
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
3
Essence - the Magazine of the Australian Breastfeeding
New Beginnings. Bi-monthly publication of La Leche
Association. Bi-monthly. Available from: Australian
League International (LLLI).
Breastfeeding Association, 1818-1822 Malvern Road, East
Inspires breastfeeding mothers around the world through
Malvern VIC, P.O.Box 4000, Glen Iris VIC 3146. Australia.
breastfeeding and parenting articles, stories, poems and
other information; Also available in Spanish {Nuevo
Tel. (03) 9885 0855, Fax: (03) 9885 0866.
Email: info@breastfeeding.asn.au
Comienzo). Articles are indexed in LLLI’s on-line database
Website: www.breastfeeding.asn.au
of full-text articles and can be read (organised by issue)
on-line http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb.html. Subscription
1BFAN Africa Bulletin. Quarterly. A vailablefrom: IBFAN
Rate: USS 18 in USA without membership, USS 30 with
Africa, Centre Point, Dlanubeka Mbabane, Swaziland. Tel.
regular membership. Available from: La Leche League
(268)
4045006,
Fax:
(268)
4040546.
Email:
ibfanswd@realnet.co.sz.
International, Inc., 1400 N. Meacham Road, PO Box 4079,
Schaumburg, IL 601 68-4079 USA. Tel: 847-519-7730,
Fax: 847-519-0035. Email: LLLI@llli.org
Issues. Published three times a year. Subscription rate:
Included in membership fee. Availablefrom: New Zealand
SINAN News. Monthly. Official newsletter of the
Lactation Consultants Association, P.O.Box 29-279, Christ
Swaziland Infant Nutrition Action Network. Subscription
Church, New Zealand. Tel. (07) 866 2095, Fax (07) 866
Rate: Free of charge to SINAN members, health workers
2020. Email: mbriggs@wave.co.nz
and relevant organisations. Available from: SINAN,
P.O.Box 1032, Mbabane, Swaziland.
Journal of Human Lactation - Official Journal of the
International Lactation Consultant Association. Quarterly.
WABALink. Quarterly Periodical. Subscription Rate: Free
Subscription rate: Institutions: USS 260 per year;
of charge. Availablefrom: World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Individuals: USS 90 per year. Available from: Sage
Action, P.O.Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia. Tel. (760-
Publications, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320,
4) 6584816 Fax: 657 2655. E-mail: secr@waba.po.my
USA. Tel. (805)499 9774,
website: http://www.wlogica.com.br/waba
Fax: (805) 375 1700. Email: order@sagepub.com;
Website: www.sagepub.com
Mothering - Bi-monthly. Provides inspirational and
practical information and support for natural family living
through articles on parenting, health, birth, pregnancy,
breastfeeding, the experience of childhood and the process
of learning. Available from: Mothering magazine, PO Box
1690, Santa Fe, NM 87504 USA. Tel: 800-984-8116 or 760796-4958.
Email: info@mothering.com
Website: http://www.mothering.com
9. RESOURCES
4
Directory of Key Contacts
7.
Amal Omer Salim
International Maternal & Child Health (IMCH)
Maternity Protection Coalition
Editorial Board
Dept of Women’s & Children’s Health, Uppsala University
University Hospital, Entrance 11, S 751 85 Uppsala
Sweden
1.
Nomajoni Ntombela
AED/Linkages Project
3039 Makishi Road, Fair View, Rhodes Park, Lusaka,
Tel: 46-18-611 5985
Fax: 508013
Email: amalomersalim@hotmail.com
Zambia
8.
Funny Kondolo
Tel: 260-1-234311/2
Fax: 224474
The National Food and Nutrition Commission
Email: nomajoni@zamnet.zm
PO Box 32669, Lusaka, Zambia
Tel: 260-1-227803
2.
Marta Trejos
Cefemina
Fax: 221426
Email: exdirector@zamtel.zm
Apartado 5355, 1000 San Jose, Costa Rica
Tel/Fax: 506-224 3986
9.
Email: cefemina@racsa.co.cr
Project Officer (Legal), Nutrition Section
Suzanne Dionne
3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
David Clark
UNICEF
3.
CLSC de la Haute-Yamaska
Fax: 1-212-735 4405
294 Rue Deragon, Granby. Quebec J2G 5J5, Canada
Email: dclark@unicef.org
Tel: 1-450-375 1442
Bobbie Jopson
Fax: 1-450-375 5655
10.
Email: sudionne@citenet.net
Workers Foundation of the Philippines
8 Paraiso Street, San Francisco del Monte
4.
Blanche Bationo
Quezon City 1104, Philippines
IBFAN Afrique Francophone
Tel: 63-2-3722826
213 Ave Kadiogo, Sect 2, Bilbalogho, Ouagadougou 01
Email: bobijopson@edsamail.com.ph
Burkina Faso
Tel: 226-374164
11.
Fax: 374163
Email: ibfanfan@fasonet.bf
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)
Sarah Amin
P.O. Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia
Tel. (604) 658 4816
5.
Elaine Petitat-Cote
Fax: (604) 657 2655
IBFAN-GIFA -Geneva Infant Feeding Association
Email: waba@streamyx.com
CP 157, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland
Website: www.waba.org.my
Tel: 41-22-798 9164
Fax: 41-22-798 4443
Email: elaine.cote@gifa.org
6.
Chris Mulford
ILCA
219 Dickinson Avenue, Swarthmore,
PA 19081-1630, USA
Tel: 1-610-328 4134
Email: chrismulfo@comcast.net
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
United Nations Agencies
5
St. Lucia: regional office for North America and the
Caribbean
International Labour Office (ILO)
Fond Assau Post Office, St. Lucia, St. Lucia
RoutedesMorillons4, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland.
Tel: ++1-758-450.58.40
Tel. 41-22- 799 61111
Fax: ++1-758-450.52.47
Fax: 41-22- 798 8685
e-mail: albertv@candw.lc
Email: ilo@ilo.org
Website: www.ilo.org
Asia:
Kuala Lumpur: regional office for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
No. 25, 2"'1 Floor Jalan Telawi Dua, Bangsar Baru, 59100
Kuala Lumpur,
Email: unicef@unicef.org
Malaysia
Website: www.unicef.org
Tel: ++60-3-284.21.40 or 21.42
Fax: ++60-3-284.73.95
World Health Organization
e-mail: eduint@pc.jaring.my
Ave. Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Email: who@who.org
Suva: regional office
Website: www.who.org
C/o COPE, PO Box 2203, Government Buildings
Suva, Fiji
Tel: ++67-9-31.56.64
Trade Unions
Fax: ++67-9-30.59.45
Education International (El)
International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU)
Boulevard Albert II, 5, 1210 Brussels, Belgium
Tel. ++32-2-2240611 Fax++32-2-2240606
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5,
Email headoffice@ei-ie.org
1210 Brussels, Belgium
Website: http://www.ei-ie.org
Telephone: ++32-2-224.02.11
Fax: ++32-2-201.58.15
Established in 1993
Email: intemetpo@icftu.org
Represents workers: educators, teachers,
Website: http://www.icftu.org
lecturers and other employees in education
Established in 1949.
Represents workers in all affiliated free labour
El Regional Organisations
organisations, for the most part
national trade union centres
Africa-.
Lome', regional office for Africa
PO Box 14058, Lome, Togo
ICFTU Regional Organisations
Tel: ++228-21.28.41
Fax: ++228-21.28.48
e-mail: eiraf@bibway.com
Americas:
Caracas: ORIT (Organizacion Regional Interamericana de
Trabajadores) regional office for North and South America
Americas:
San Jose: regional office for Latin America
Avda. Andres Eloy Blanco (Este 2), Ediftcio Jose Vargas,
Piso 15,
Apartado postal 7174, 1000 San Josd, Costa Rica
Los Caobas, Caracas, Venezuela
Tel: ++506-2-83.73.78
Tel: ++58-2-578.35.38 or 578.10.92 or 578.27.80
Fax: ++506-2-83.73.78
Fax: ++58-2-578.17.02
E-mail: educint@sol.racsa.co.cr
E-mail: cioslorit@cantv.net
Web-site: http://www.ciosl-orit.org
9. RESOURCES
6
Africa:
Vienna: ICFTU Permanent Representative to the IAEA
Nairobi: AFRO (African Regional Organisation)
Rugierstrasse 12/30, 1220 Vienna, Austria
PO Box 67273. Ambank House (14th Floor), University
Tel.: ++43-1-230.01.40
Way,
Nairobi, KENYA
Vienna: ICFTU Permanent Representative to UNIDO
Tel: ++254-2-24.43.36 or 254-2-24.43.35 or 254-2-
Pokomygasse 31/19, 1190 Wien, Austria
34.00.46
Tel.: ++43-1-369.13.75
Fax: ++254-2-21.50.72
E-mail: info@icftuafro.org
Moscow: ICFTU Office for the N.I.S.
Asia:
Tel.: ++7-095-915.78.99
Singapore: APRO (Asian and Pacific Regional
Fax.: ++7-095-915.78.99
Ul. Zemlynov Vai, 64/1 L. 623, 109004, Moscow, Russia
Organisation)
E-mail: lstudies@home.relline.ru
4th Floor, 73 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189556,
Singapore
Tel: ++65-222.62.94
Sarajevo: ICFTU South-East European Office
Ulica Valtera Perica 22/III, 71000 Sarajevo,
Fax: ++65-221.73.80
Bosnia-Herzegovina
E-mail: gs@icftu-apro.org
Tel.: ++387-33-218.322
Web-site: http://www.icftu-apro.org
Fax.: ++387-33-203.305
E-mail: icftubux@bih.net.ba
ICFTU Offices Representatives:
Sofia: ICFTU CEE TU Rights Network
Geneva: ICFTU Geneva Office
Tel.: ++359-2-526.756
21 Rue Damian Grouev, Sofia, Bulgaria
Avenue Blanc 46, 1202 Geneve, Switzerland
Fax.: ++359-2-526.756
Tel.: ++41-22-738.42.02 or 03
Fax.: ++41-22-738.10.82
E-mail: icftu.ge@geneva.icftu.org
Zagreb: ICFTU CEE Gender Project
C/o UATUC, Kresimirov trg. 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel.: ++385-1-465.50.21
New York: ICFTU United Nations Office
Fax.: ++385-1-465.50.21
104 East 40lh Street, Room 404, New York NY 10016, USA
E-mail: jasna.petrovicl@sssh.hr
Tel.: ++1-212-986.18.20
Fax.: ++1-212-972.97.46
Hong Kong: ICFTU/HKCTU Hong Kong Liaison Office
E-mail: icftuny@igc.org
19/F Wing Wong Commercial B Idg., 557-559 Nathan Road,
Washington: ICFTU/ITS Washington Office
Tel.: ++852-27.70.86.68
1925 K Street NW, Suite 425, Washington DC 20006, USA
Fax.: ++852-27.70.73.88
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel.: ++1-202-463.85.73
E-mail: ihlo@khctu.org.hk
Fax.: ++1-202-463.85.64
E-mail: icftu@mnsinc.com
Amman: ICFTU Amman Office
Rome: ICFTU Permanent Representative to the FAO
Tel.: ++962-6-560.31.81
POB 925 875, Amman 11110, Jordan
C/o UIL, Via Lucullo 6, 00187 Roma, Italy
Fax.: ++962-6-560.31.85
Tel.: ++390-6-47.531
E-mail: icftuamm@go.com.jo
MATERNITY PROTECTION CAMPAIGN KIT
7
Public Services International (PSI)
Cali Valle: sub-regional office for the Andean region
BP 9, OI211 Ferney-Voltaire Cedex, France
Carrera 66# 13B-64 Camambu, Casa 15, Cali Valle,
Telephone: ++33-450.40.64.64
Colombia
Fax: ++33-450.40.73.20
Tel: ++57-2-33.97.954
Email: psi@world-psi.org
Fax: ++57-2-31.53.128
Website: http://www.world-psi.org/
E-mail: hgalindo@emcali.net.co
Established in 1907
Represents
workers
Sao Paulo: sub-regional office for Brazil
in:
Employees
in
public
Alameda Jau 796, Apto. 1007, BR Sao Paulo, Capital
administrations, enterprises and institutions of regional
01420-001, Brazil
authorities, public corporations, foundations, public
Tel: ++55-11-284.08.40
institutions; in companies generating and distributing gas,
Fax: ++55-11-284.08.40
electricity and water, of waste management; in the
E-mail: ispbrasil@uol.com.br
environmental, social and health sector; in public
educational, cultural and leisure-time facilities as well as
Santiago: sub-regional office for Southern Cone
other public institutions, administrations and companies
Las Nieves No 3477, Dpto No. 95, Vitacura, CL Santiago,
delivering public services; employees in international
Chile
institutions which have been established by states or
Tel: ++56-2-207.52.80
communities of states. Teachers and employees of
Fax: ++56-2-245.00.85
nationally operated postal and railway services are explicitly
E-mail: ispconosur@manquehue.net
excluded.
San Jose: sub-regional office for Central America
PSI Regional Organisations:
Barrio Feo., Peralta 100E.25N, Casa Italia, Ofic. Reg IE/
Africa and Arab Conn tries:
Tel: ++506-281.17.48
Lome: regional office for Africa and Arab Countries
Fax: ++506-281.16.15
ISP, CR San Jose, Costa Rica
BP 8473, TG Lomd, TOGO
E-mail: psicosta@sol.racsa.co.cr
Tel.: ++228-21.85.52
Fax.: ++228.21.28.52
Asia:
E-mail: psi-lome@cafe.tg
Kuala Lumpur, regional office for Asia and Pacific Region
25-2, Jalan Telawi Dua, Bangsar Baru, MY 59100 Kuala
Braamfontein: sub-regional office for Southern Africa
Lumpur, Malaysia
P.O. Box 32136, ZA Braamfontein 2017, South Africa
Tel: ++60-3-28.71.782
Tel: ++27-11-403.77.65/6
Fax: ++60-3-28.71.780
Fax: ++27-11-403.24.79
E-mail: psiap@ppp.nasionet.net
E-mail: psi@sn.apc.org
Haryana: sub-regional office for South Asia
Lebanon: sub-regional office for Arabic speaking countries
House No. 61, I-Block, sector 10, Faridabad, 121007
Yachoui Center - 6th Floor, LB Jal El Dib, Lebanon
Haryana, India
Tel: ++961-4-71.77.38
Tel: ++91-129-526.06.69
Fax: ++961-9-91.35.67
Fax: ++91-129-28.61.98
E-mail: g.slaiby@sodetel.net.lb
E-mail: psisouthasia@vsnl.com
Americas:
Tokyo: PSI Tokyo office
Washington: Inter-American regional office
5th Floor, Jichiro Building, 1 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku,
733 1S01 st. N.W. Suite 324, Washington D.C. 20005, USA
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: ++1-202-824.08.80
Tel: ++81-3-32.34.32.70
Fax: ++1-202-824.08.81
Fax: ++81-3-52.75.54.64
E-mail: psiamericas@igc.org
e-mail: satok@jichiro.gr.jp
9. RESOURCES
Europe:
Brussels: PSI Liaison Office/Secretariat of the European
Federation of Public Service unions
45 Rue Royale, 1000 Brussels,
Belgium
Trade Union Advisory Committee to the Organisation
(TUAC) for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD)
26 Avenue de la Grande-Armee, 75017 Paris, France
Telephone ++33-1-55.37.37.37
Tel: ++32-2-250.10.80
Fax: ++33-1-47.54.98.28
Fax: ++32-2-250,10.99
Email: tuac@tuac.org
Website: http://www.tuac.org
e-mail: epsu@epsu.org
Praha: sub-regional office for Central Europe
Established in 1948. Represents workers in: affiliated
W. Churchill Sq. 2, CZ 11359. Praha 3, Czech Republic
national trade union centres in OECD countries
Tel: ++420-2-24.46.35.59
The 30 member countries of the OECD are: Australia,
Fax: ++420-2-24.46.35.57
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark,
e-mail: krejbych.josef@cmkos.cz
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico,
Bucarest: sub-regional office for South East Europe
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Str. Piata Amzei 10-22. Sc. B, Et. 5, Ap. 26, RO Bucuresti
Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
Sector 1. Romania
United Kingdom, United States
Tel: ++40-1-65.92.559
Fax: +440-1-65.92.559
e-mail: irimie@ping.ro
Kiev: Sub-regional office for North-East Europe
Maidin Nezalezhnosti 2, 252012 Kiev, Ukraine
Tel: ++380-44-22.8 1.249
Fax: ++380-44-22.81.249
E-mail: shilov@interdep.kiev.ua
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA), with technical assistance from the International Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation
and monitoring of improved maternity protection entitlements.
IBFAN/GIFA, C P. 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-798 4443 Email: info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive,
Suite 102, NC Raleigh, 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181 Fax:919-787-4916 Email: info@ilca.org Website: www.ilca.org •
International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH). Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University,
University Hospital, Entrance 11,5-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115985 Fax:46-18-508013 • The LINKAGES Project,
Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Teh 202-884-8000
Fax:202-884-8977 Email: linkages@aed.org Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA. PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax: 604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
Beijing Platform for Action, 1995
Strategic Objectives and Actions on
Health, Violence against Women and Economy
Adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, People’s
Republic of China, September 1995
C.
WOMEN AND HEALTH
Strategic objective C.l
Increase women's access throughout the life cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality
health care, information and related services
Actions to be taken
106.
By Governments, in collaboration with non-governniental organisations and
employers' and workers' organisations and with the support of international
institutions:
p.
Formulate special policies, design programmes and enact the legislation necessary to
alleviate and eliminate environmental and occupational health hazards associated with
work in the home, in the workplace and elsewhere with attention to pregnant and
lactating women;
r.
Promote public information on the benefits of breastfeeding; examine ways and
means of implementing fully the WHO/UNICEF International Code of Marketing of
Breastmilk Substitutes, and enable mothers to breastfeed their infants by providing
legal, economic, practical and emotional support;
w. Promote and ensure household and national food security, as appropriate, and
implement programmes aimed at improving the nutritional status of all girls and
women by implementing the commitments made in the Plan of Action on Nutrition of
the International Conference on Nutrition, including a reduction world wide of severe
and moderate malnutrition among children under the age of five by one half of 1990
levels by the year 2000, giving special attention to the gender gap in nutrition, and a
reduction in iron deficiency anaemia in girls and women by one third of the 1990
levels by the year 2000.
Strategic objective C.3
Undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted diseases,
HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues
Actions to be taken
108.
By Governments, international bodies including relevant United Nations
organisations, bilateral and multilateral donors and non-governmental organisations:
Give all women and health workers all relevant information and education about
sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and pregnancy and the
implications for the baby, including breastfeeding;
Strategic objective C.4
Promote research and disseminate information on women's health
Actions to be taken
109.
By Governments, the United Nations system, health professions, research institutions,
non-governmental organisations, donors, pharmaceutical industries and the mass
media, as appropriate:
a.
Promote gender-sensitive and women-centred health research, treatment and
technology and link traditional and indigenous knowledge with modem medicine,
making information available to women to enable them to make informed and
responsible decisions.
F.
WOMEN AND ECONOMY
Strategic objective F.6
Promote harmonisation of work and family responsibilities for women and men
181. Actions to be taken:
By Governments
c)
Ensure, through legislation, incentives and/or encouragement, opportunities for
women and men to take job-protected parental leave and to have parental benefits.
Promote the equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men and women,
including through appropriate legislation, incentives and/or encouragement, and also
promote the facilitation of breastfeeding for working mothers.
This document was prepared as part of the enclosures for the Maternity Protection Campaign kit. Produced by the Maternity
Protection Coalition (MPC), comprising of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), the International Consultant
Association (ILCA), the Linkages Project and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), with technical assistance from
International Maternal & Child Health (1MCH), Uppsala University, Sweden and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation and monitoring of improved
maternity protection entitlements. IBFAN/GIFA, CP 157, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland. Fax: 41-22-7984443; Email:
info@gifa.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Tel: 919-7875181; Fax: 919-7874916;
Email: info@ilca.org • IMCH, Dept of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Entrance 11, S-751 85 Uppsala,
Sweden. Tel: 46-18-6115958; Fax: 46-18-508013 • The Linkages Project, Academy for Educational Development, 1825
Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20009, USA. Tel: 202-8848000; Fax: 202-8848977; Email: linkages@aed.org;
Website: www.linkagesproject.org • WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia. Fax: 604-6572655; Email:
waba@streamyx.com; Website: www.waba.org.my
Breastfeeding and the
Workplace
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
Why does breastfeeding
make a difference?
Increasing numbers of women are now spending their
childbearing years in active employment. Based on
current scientific evidence about the health effects
of breastfeeding, UNICEF and the World Health
Assembly state that the optimum duration of exclu
sive breastfeeding, that is, giving no other foods or
drinks, is six months. Thereafter, the infant should
receive complementary food in addition to breastmilk.
Ideally, breastfeeding continues until the age of two
years or beyond. This pattern of infant feeding ben
efits not only infants and their mothers but also fami
lies, employers and society as a whole.
How do families benefit from breastfeeding?
Replacements for breastmilk are expensive, in many
countries costing 25% or more of the daily wage.
The money saved when mothers provide milk for their
babies can be spent on other family members, espe
cially on food for older children. Optimal breastfeeding
reduces fertility, allowing longer spacing between
pregnancies and contributing to better health for the
mother and her children. Breastfed babies have a
lower risk of sickness, again saving money which
might otherwise be spent on health care.
How do employers benefit
from breastfeeding?
Employers who cover health
care for workers’ families
have lower costs for doctor
visits, hospitalization, and medi
cations when babies are
optimally breastfed. When chil
dren are healthier, productivity
goes up because parents miss
fewer work days, worry less and
concentrate more on their work. If a
woman knows her employer supports
breastfeeding, she may come back
sooner after maternity leave, thus reduc
ing the employer’s retraining and replacement
costs. Finallv. workplace support for a woman’s
“mother-work” gives her a compelling reason for loy
alty to her employer.
How does society as a whole benefit from
breastfeeding?
• Human milk is a unique natural resource. It is the
best food for babies and young children, building
brain power as well as health. The only way to obtain
it is through breastfeeding. If a community does not
give women the support they need in order to
breastfeed, this valuable resource can be lost.
Replacing human milk is expensive, inefficient and
risky—an economically unsustainable alternative.
For developing countries, imported milk siphons off
precious dollar reserves. On top of the obvious costs
to the health care system due to associated illness,
society pays hidden costs of environmental
degradation and the loss of learning potential in
children.
• Breastfeeding is a key component of child-care.
It encourages the development of a close, nurturing
relationship between mother and child. Additionally,
the hormones of lactation improve women’s well
being, lower the rates of anaemia by reducing blood
loss after childbirth and during lactation, and lessen
the risk of osteoporosis and certain cancers later in
life. Breastfeeding is the primary method of child
spacing for families in situations where contracep
tion is unavailable, unaffordable or unacceptable.
While breastfeeding women
may make up only a small pro
portion of the workforce at any
one time, protection for
breastfeeding is important to all.
Child-bearing and breastfeeding
are vital social functions that
only women can carry out, yet
they benefit everyone. Each
generation of breastfed children
lays the foundation for a future
generation of healthy and
productive workers. Working
women in particular need protec
tion against discrimination and
harassment because they often face
obstacles to breastfeeding at their jobs.
Breastfeeding and the Workplace
for an employer to fire a woman during pregnancy,
maternity leave or for a period following herretum
to work, except on grounds unrelated to maternity.
• Employment protection: A mother returning to
work is entitled to the same job and salary as before
her leave.
e Maternity leave: The minimum length of paid
maternity leave is 14 weeks.
• Breastfeeding/Nursing breaks: After
maternity leave, women workers who are
breastfeeding have the right to paid breastfeeding/
nursing breaks or a reduction of work hours.
Breastfeeding mothers
at work
According to UNICEF, breastfeeding is recognized
in Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child as “an essential component in assuring the
child’s right to the highest attainable standard of
health.... This means that governments are under an
obligation to ensure an environment that empowers
women to breastfeed their children if they choose to
do so. Working women do not lose the right to this
enabling environment because they are in paid
employment.”1
How does maternity leave affect breastfeeding?
Childbearing requires a maj or investment of time and
energy from women. In 2000, after reviewing the
scientific literature, the World Health Organization
(WHO) concluded that for optimal maternal and
infant health, women need four to six weeks of leave
before giving birth and at least sixteen weeks
afterwards, with adjustments for increased leave if
the woman or her child is sick.2 After giving birth, a
mother needs time to recuperate from the natural
course of pregnancy and childbirth and to begin
breastfeeding and caring for her infant. Paid
maternity leave enables her to take that time without
suffering economic loss.
Breastfeeding rates vary from nation to nation. Most
nations have a goal of increasing breastfeeding as a
means of improving public health and reducing rates
of disease and death in children under five. When
creative solutions are found that enhance
breastfeeding protection at work, mothers are able
to breastfeed longer and better and thus improve
health, development and well-being.
What is worksite protection for breastfeeding?
Maternity protection provides the support women
need in order to satisfactorily harmonize their
productive and reproductive lives. Maternity
protection addresses the health needs of women
workers and their children, at the same time making
it possible for women to remain in the workforce
throughout their childbearing years.
What is a breastfeeding break?
A breastfeeding break is a period that a breastfeeding
mother takes during her work day for either
breastfeeding her child or expressing her milk.
Breastfeeding breaks are paid time.
Breastfeeding protection was a fundamental
component of maternity protection when the
International Labour Organization (ILO) was
founded in 1919. In June 2000, the ILO adopted a
revised Convention 183 and Recommendation 191
on Maternity Protection. The key elements of
Convention 183 for breastfeeding women are non
discrimination, employment protection, maternity
leave, and breastfeeding breaks. Nations that
implement and monitor these provisions in national
law and practice are working to ensure that women
and men have equal employment opportunities, job
security, and conditions of work whilst enabling them
to continue providing optimal care for their babies.
• Non-discrimination: Convention 183 says that
maternity (including breastfeeding) should not
constitute a source of discrimination in
employment or in access to employment.
Furthermore, the Convention makes it unlawful
Do women have a right to breastfeeding breaks?
Yes! In Convention 183 language establishing a right
to nursing breaks appears for the first time. In
previous maternity protection conventions women
were “allowed” nursing breaks or were “entitled to
interrupt their work for this purpose.”
Why are breastfeeding breaks needed?
I
Breaks enable mothers to keep up a good supply of
breastmilk. A lactating (breastfeeding) mother makes
milk 24 hours a day. Normally, her baby breastfeeds
around the clock as well, and her breasts respond to
the baby’s demand by making the amount of milk
that the baby takes, for the times the baby usually
takes it. If her baby begins to space feedings farther
apart (for instance, by sleeping longer at night), her
body will adjust by making less milk at those times.
Breastfeeding and the Workplace
When the mother's job takes her away at a time the
baby normally breastfeeds, her baby can drink milk
that she has expressed (by hand or with a pump) and
left with the care-giver. In order to continue making
enough milk for her baby’s needs, the mother must
also express the milk that gathers in her breasts during
the time that she and her baby are apart. In addition,
a woman who expresses milk is taking care of her
own health, keeping her breasts comfortable and
protecting them from infections.
When are breastfeeding breaks needed?
Breastfeeding breaks are most important during the
period of exclusive breastfeeding, until the baby is
six months old. Even after the baby begins to eat
complementary foods, breastmilk is still the major part
of his or her diet for many more months, and
breastfeeding breaks are needed to maintain the
mother’s milk production at the highest level.
How long does a breastfeeding break last?
An experienced mother can express her milk in 1520 minutes. Because she needs additional time to go
to the place where she will express, clean her hands
and any equipment she needs to use, prepare the milk
for storage, and get back to her work station, 30
minutes is a realistic length for a breastfeeding break.
If the baby is available for breastfeeding, 30 minutes
is a reasonable break time, but more flexibility might
be needed, since babies are less predictable than adults!
How can breastfeeding breaks be adapted to
individual needs?
Mothers and babies are individuals. No single rule
will fit them all. Some women will not need a full half
hour. Some may need more frequent breaks. ILO
Recommendation 191 calls for breastfeeding breaks
to be adapted to individual needs by means of a
medical certificate or “other appropriate
certification.” Breastfeeding is part of a woman’s
personal life; it is not really a “medical” matter.
Various options should be developed for certifying a
woman’s need for breastfeeding breaks. These might
include a certificate from a worksite or community
nurse, a union welfare officer, or a workplace
breastfeeding committee that includes both workers
and management.
Working together, women and employers can develop
a whole range of creative solutions for adapting the
workplace or the breastfeeding breaks to accommo
date the needs of both parties.
When are breastfeeding breaks no longer
needed?
Babies’ breastfeeding patterns vary according to the
intensity of their need for milk. For the best health
and nutrition, the global standard is to sustain
breastfeeding at least until the age of two years. To
support this standard, in June 2000 UNICEF called
on the ILO to include one daily breastfeeding break
for the baby’s second year when the Maternity
Protection Recommendation was revised.
In reality, by the time a child reaches one year of
age, many women can maintain an adequate milk
supply without needing to express while away from
the baby. Once a baby stops breastfeeding, the
mother no longer needs breastfeeding breaks.
What is a daily reduction of hours of work for
breastfeeding?
If a woman lives far from her job or has no facilities
for child care at or near the workplace, she may prefer
to add her breastfeeding breaks together and take
that time at the beginning or the end of her normal
work day. This allows her to work a shorter day and
have an extra hour at home with her baby. She might
still choose to express milk during her usual lunch
break as an additional method for keeping up her
milk supply.
What facilities are needed for breastfeeding
or expressing milk in the workplace?
ILO Recommendation 191 says that “where
practicable, provision should be made for the
establishment of facilities for breastfeeding under
adequate hygienic conditions at or near the
workplace.” A breastfeeding woman needs access
to a small, clean space with room to sit down and a
door, screen, or curtain for privacy, access to clean
water, and a secure storage place for milk, such as a
locker, or space for a container at her work station.
Basic cleanliness, accessibility and security are the
most important features of a “breastfeeding facility.”
A worker needs to know that the space will be
available when she needs it. More than one mother
can use the space at the same time, if all agree. In
fact, they may find it helpful for mutual encouragement.
The level of cleanliness is similar to that needed
for preparing or eating food, thus, a toilet is not
an appropriate location! Although a refrigerator
is useful, it is not essential. The mother or the
Milk Storage Information
Maximum
Place of storage
temperature
Time
26°C (79°F)
Closed container
4-8 hours
22°C (72°F)
Closed container
10 hours
15°C(59°F)
Insulated cooler with
"blue ice"
24 hours
4°C (39°F)
Fresh milk in refrigerator
3-8 days
4°C (39°F)
Previously frozen milk,
I thawed, in refrigerator
24 hours
-15°C (4°F)
Freezer compartment
I inside refrigerator
: 2 weeks
Freezer with its own door I 4 months
I Deep freeze with
I constant temperature
at least
I 6 months
La Leche League, also Hamosh M el al,
Breastfeeding and the working mother.
Pediatrics 97(4):492-498, 1996.
employer can provide a small coolbox or thermos
flask. Milk can also be safely stored for 4 to 10 hours
at room temperature.
Why should a breastfeeding woman get sup
port from her employer and co-workers?
A breastfeeding mother invests time and energy pro
viding food and care for her family. This is reward
ing, but it can also be stressful. Milk expression in
particular becomes more difficult when women are
under stress. A supportive attitude from the employer,
supervisors, union, and co-workers can lessen the
stresses of balancing job and family needs. Since
everyone benefits when babies are breastfed, every
one has a social responsibility to support breastfeeding
workers.
Resource Centres
OVERALL
COORDINATION
WABA Secretariat
PO Box 1200
10850 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: 60-4-658 4816
Fax: 60-4-657 2655
waba@streamyx.com
www.waba.org.my
WABA WOMEN & WORK
TASK FORCE
Ines Fernandez
ARUGAAN
42-A Maalalahanin St.
Teachers Village, Dillman
Quezon City, Philippines 1101
Tel: 632-426 3918
Fax: 632-922 5189
arugaan@mozcom.com
Chris Mulford
219 Dickinson Avenue
Swarthmore
PA 19081-1630, USA
Tel: 1-610-328 4134
Fax: 1-610-328 7306
chrismulfo@comcast.net
Amal Omer-Salim
International Maternal and
Child Health (IMCH)
Dept of Women's and
Children's Health
Entrance 11, Uppsala
University
S-7S1 85 Uppsala, Sweden
Tel: 46-18-611 598
Fax: 46-18-508 013
amat.omer-salim@kbh.uu.se
AFRICA
IBFAN Africa
PO Box 781
Mbabane, Swaziland
Tel: 268-40-45006
Fax: 268-40-40546
ibfanswd@realnet.co.sz
www.ibfan.org
IBFAN Afrique
01 BP1776
Ouagadougou 01
Burkina Faso
Tel: 226-374 164
Fax: 226-374 163
ibfanfan@fasonet.bf
ASIA
Breastfeeding Promotion
Network of India (BPNI)
BP-33, PO Box 10551
Pitampura
Delhi 110 034, India
Tel: 91-11-2731 2445
Fax: 91-11-2731 5606
bpni@bpni.org
www.bpni.org
EUROPE
GIFA
CP 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland
Tel: 41-22-798 9164
Fax: 41-22-798 4443
info@gifa.org
IMCH
(see previous contact details)
ted.greiner@kbh.uu.se
LATIN AMERICA
CEFEMINA
Apartado 5355
1000 San Jose, Costa Rica
Tel: 506-224 3986
Fax: 506-224 3986
cefemina@racsa.co.cr
www.cefemina.or.cr
NORTH AMERICA
International Lactation
Consultant Association (ILCA)
1500 Sunday Drive, Suite
102, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Tel: 1-919-787 5181
Fax: 1 -919-787 4916
ilca@erols.com
www.ilca.org
Endnotes:
1. Statement by UNICEF to the Committee on Maternity Pro
tection, 88th Session of the International Labour Confer
ence, Geneva, 30 May to 15 June 2000 <www.waba.org.br/
unicefilo2000.htm>
2. World Health Organisation Statement to the International
Labour Conference, 2 June 2000 <www.waba.org.br/
whoilo2000.htm>
Resource:
1. Breastfeeding, Women and Work - the Maternity Protection
Campaign: a report ofthe NGO advocacy efforts at the 88th
ILO Conference, 2000, WABA
The Maternity Protection Campaign is organized by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC), com
prising groups from the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), the International Baby Food
Action Network (IBFAN), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and the LINKAGES
project, with technical assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and International
Maternal & Child Health, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH). The MPC supports women's right to
breastfeed and work, through international instruments, national legislation and local agreements that
strengthen maternity entitlements • This sheet was developed for the information of trade unions,
employers and governments as part of the Maternity Protection Campaign. Authors: Chris Mulford
(ILCA) and Amal Omer-Salim (IMCH). For more copies, contact the WABA Secretariat.
14 May 2002
Maternity Protection at Work
A Breastfeeding Perspective
CAMPAIGN
KIT
A joint publication by the Maternity Protection Coalition
with technical input from IMCH and UNICEF
IBFAN
WABA
LINKAGES
This kit is produced by the Maternity Protection Coalition (MFC), comprising the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), the
International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the LINKAGES Project and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA),
WITH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH, UPPSALA UNIVERSITY, SWEDEN (IMCH) AND UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S
Fund (UNICEF). The MPC supports women’s right to breastfeed and work, by advocating for implementation and monitoring of improved
MATERNITY PROTECTION ENTITLEMENTS.
IBFAN/GIFA, C.P. 157, CH 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland. Tel: 41-22-798-91-64 Fax: 41-22-798 4443
Email: info@gifa.org Website:
www.ibfan.org • ILCA, 1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Tel: 919-787-5181 Fax: 919-787-4916 Email: info@ilca.org
Website: www.ilca.org • International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children's Health, Uppsala
University, University Hospital, Entrance II, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
Tel: 46-18-6115985
Fax: 46-18-508013
•
The LINKAGES Project, Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Tel: 202-884-8000
Fax: 202-884-8977
Email: linkages@aed.org
Website: www.linkagesproject.org
•
WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850
Penang, Malaysia. Tel: 604-658 4816 Fax:604-657 2655 Email: waba@streamyx.com Website: www.waba.org.my
Illustration adapted with permission from Maternity Protection Campaign poster by Education International,
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and Public Services International.
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