PHM-Exch> 2014 WABA International Labour Day Statement

[Claudio Schuftan]

Women workers who are pregnant or breastfeeding are in need of special
consideration and this has been recognised by the internation-al community
in the form of the ILO Maternity Protection Conven-tion C-183(2000) and its
Recom-mendation R-191(2000) that pro-vide a minimum standard of protec-tion
for working mothers during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period
.
In a message at World Breastfeed-ing Week 2013, Laura Addati, ILO
specialist on Maternity Protection said, “Combining work and breast-feeding
is not only possible but also essential for both mother and child, as well
as for business and socie-ty...Global efforts to promote breastfeeding in
the workplace are starting to pay off, with more than 65 per cent of
countries around the world now having some sort of legislation entitling
mothers to either remunerated nursing breaks or a daily reduction of
working hours.”
See: www.waba.org.my/
The gender gap in employment has widened during the Global Eco-nomic
Crisis. In April 2014 Guy Rider, the ILO Director-General is quoted as
saying “Inequalities have widened and the wage share in GDP fallen in many
countries, including the world’s largest econo-mies and female
participation rates lag those of males in all countries.”
During an economic downturn, women are frequently forced to accept lesser
work and lower pay in order to meet household needs. Furthermore, most
governments have adopted tighter fiscal measures and cut back on public
spending, especially on social programmes, which in turn has a
dis-proportionate impact on the most vulnerable groups of women. Women’s
employment is often informal and is without legally regulated social
protection.
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