Maternity Protection at the Workplace Ratifying ILO Convention 183 UNICEF and the World Health Assembly recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, followed by sustained breastfeeding with complementary foods. This recommendation has been shown to have many health benefits, including reducing the incidence and severity of diseases such as acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea. For mothers, some of the benefits of breastfeeding include lower rates of anaemia, pre-menopausal breast cancer and epithelial ovarian cancer, fewer bone fractures later in life, and longer intervals between births. For many working mothers around the world, the period of maternity leave is inadequate for putting these recommendations into practice and many women have no maternity protection at all. In 1919, the International Labour Office adopted the first Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No 3) which has been (and still can be) ratified by 33 countries; it was followed, in 1952, by Maternity Protection, 1952, (No 103) which 37 countries ratified over the years. The revision of the latter began in 1999, and, after a two-year process, on 15 June 2000, Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No 183) and Recommendation 191 were adopted by 304 votes (22 were against; 116 abstained). From this point on, Member States have become the actors, as it is up to them to choose to ratify, or not, the new Convention. Indeed, it enters into force precisely (and only) one year after two countries have ratified it. Upon ratifying a Convention, Member States pledge to adapt their national legislation to that of the Convention, and to implement these new laws. It is therefore extremely good news to announce that on 7 February 2002, Convention 183 will be enforced, as Italy, following the path of Slovakia (who had ratified it in December 2000), ratified the Convention at the beginning of February 2001. Revising Conventions is a long, slow process, and an exceptional event: it was therefore of the utmost importance that Convention 183 ensure the best possible protection for mothers and for infants: it was necessary to aim for the long-term, and to keep in mind all levels of society and all forms of work. The new Convention had to reflect both the present and the future realities of women in their roles as mothers and as workers. In order to meet these objectives, in 2000, a campaign to strengthen Convention 183 was organised by the Maternity Protection Coalition (or MPC) - a coalition of breastfeeding advocates concerned with the health and well-being of mothers and their babies - together with workers' organizations. Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No 183): The following articles highlight the Convention's greatest gains: Art. 2.1: "This Convention applies to all employed women, including those in atypical forms of dependent work": (all women sharing an employment relationship with an employer, including oral contracts; therefore, self-employed women and other independent women are not included, nor, in many cases, are women working for a family enterprise; "atypical" refers to part-time work, seasonal work, etc.); Art. 4.1: "A woman to whom this Convention applies shall be entitled to a period of maternity leave of not less than 14 weeks" (instead of 12 in Convention 103). Art. 4.4: "Maternity leave shall include a period of six weeks compulsory leave after childbirth"; Art. 6.3: "Where, under national law or practice, cash benefits paid with respect to leave are based on previous earnings, the amount of such benefits shall not be less than two-thirds of the woman's previous earnings"; Art. 8.2: "A woman is guaranteed the right to return to the same position or an equivalent position at the same rate at the end of her maternity leave"; Art. 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". Art. 10.2: "These breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work shall be counted as working time and remunerated accordingly". More than ever at this time of intense competition in the global marketplace, IBFAN and its partner organizations are committed to promoting the highest possible standard of protection for working women. We are extremely proud that Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No 183) has been adopted and that it will be entering into force relatively soon. But we must continue our work with our social partners to ensure that it is ratified by as many ILO Member States as possible. What to do now: More information concerning future advocacy and action of the Maternity Protection Coalition will be posted on this site. However, IBFANers can, as a group or as individuals, do the following towards getting their country to ratify: spread the word about how maternity protection benefits all of society: women and men, employees, employers, governments; and distribute documentation on the issue; urge national Ministries of Health and of Labour to meet together and to discuss the benefits of good maternity protection; examine present national legislation and compare it to Convention 183; meet with trade unions and devise plans with them to campaign for ratification within one's country; inform women and their families of their existing rights; sensitise the whole community and monitor application of present legislation; organise information meetings as well as press campaigns (TV shows, talks on radio, articles in newspapers...); continue to inform IBFAN-GIFA about all progress accomplished (email: info@gifa.org). Members of 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 Section of Uppsala University UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund For more information: Visit the ILO website: www.ilo.org (click: international labour standards and then choose desired option: ratifications of last 12 months or texts of conventions and recommendations and comments); See the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions lobbying kit, Maternity Protection 2000: It's for All of Us, on www.icftu.org ; Visit the Public Service International website, www.world-psi.org/psi.nsf/action; Read July-August 2000 issue of BFHI News, The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Newsletter, "Maternity Protection Convention, a victory for breastfeeding advocates" on www.unicef.org/bfhi/. Visit the WABA ILO campaign page: www.waba.org.my/ilopage.htm. Sign up to receive email alerts when new information is posted on the IBFAN website. Briefing paper posted 6 June 2001.

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