PHM-Exch> Breastfeeeding: WABA International Labour Day Statement 2022

Sun May 1 23:58:03 PDT 2022

From: WABA <waba at waba.org.my>

Improve parental social protection now to support breastfeeding!

*WABA International Labour* *Day Statement  *
1 May 2022

*Supporting breastfeeding at work: Improve parental social protection now!*

*The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects women and low-paid
workers, broadening gender inequalities
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in the workforce. Significant disruption to the health system has resulted
in a lack of access to maternal services includin**g antenatal and
postnatal care. The crisis has also increased the burden on women, with a
high risk of unemployment and additional household and family
responsibilities. Furthermore, maternity protection has not been
prioritised on the agenda of the COVID-19 relief packages
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=a9b3a70b47&e=858833e631>.
Parents need parental social protection that can ensure income security,
prevent discrimination, allow access to healthcare and enable breastfeeding
for the recommended duration. Parenting norms can be transformed to ensure
fathers or partners share childcare and domestic responsibilities
equitably to reduce the gender gap. *

*To date, only 41 countries have ratified
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=f4d8402b56&e=858833e631>
the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183). Although almost all
the countries have adopted statutory provisions for maternity leave in
their legislations, there are variations across different countries and
only 52 countries meet or exceed the ILO 18-week standard
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=0b2043e03a&e=858833e631>.
The provisions in some countries are not adequate for new parents to
combine productive and reproductive work including breastfeeding. ILO
estimates that 649 million women do not have adequate maternity leave and
at the current pace, it will take at least 46 years to achieve minimum
maternity leave rights in 185 countries. This does not include providing
adequate paternity leave and parental leave.*

*The imbalance in unpaid care work between women and men becomes even more
a**pparent when raising and caring for a breastfed infant and needs to be
addressed urgently. Most countries do not provide paternity leave, and if
they do, the leave is usually short (about 9 days on a global average) and
low-paid, which can discourage fathers from using the leave. Parental
leave, as per ILO standards, is leave available to either parent after
maternity leave, and **currently, only 68 countries offer parental leave. A
non-transferrable parental leave portion allocated to fathers/partners can
promote gender equality and increase men's involvement in childcare.
Involved fatherhood can improve breastfeeding
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=960cdfc400&e=858833e631>
and provide much-needed support for the breastfeeding mother
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=3ce04eab3e&e=858833e631>.
*

*Workers in the informal economy are particularly vulnerable to
discrimination due to a lack of employment protection and access to social
insurance where this exists. **Women in the informal economy or
self-employed women can be provided with maternity leave cash** benefits to
ensure they get some maternity protection. These be**nefits can be extended
to fathers/partners in the informal economy through paternity leave cash
benefits for them to care for their infants and support their partners to
breastfeed.*

*Even with adequate maternity and parental leave, lack of support for
breastfeeding at the workplace can impede breastfeeding. About 70 countries
do not have the statutory right to breastfeeding breaks and most of those
countries that do only allow breastfeeding breaks for six months despite
breastfeeding being recommended for two years and beyond. A
breastfeeding-friendly workplace
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=b12c8be9a8&e=858833e631>
p**rovides time, space and support for women to breastfeed or express their
breastmilk. A workplace can also provide crèches and breastfeeding support
when needed. *

*On this labour day, WABA calls upon** gov**ernments, **employers, **trade
unions, civil** society organisations and communities to step up and
support breastfeeding. Stakeholders should work together to:*

   -

   *review **and improve national laws that cover maternity and parental
   social protection for all workers.*
   -

   *implement and monitor maternity and parental social protection
   legislation and workplace breastfeeding support in both the formal and**
   informal economy.*
   -

   *establish breastfeeding-friendly workplaces that** provide
   breastfeeding facilities, paid breastfeeding breaks and flexible working
   arrang**ements.*
   -

   *advocate for publicly-funded paid parental leave that enabl**es
   exclusive breastfeeding and that promotes the involvement of
   fathers/partners in childcare an**d domestic work.*

#WABA #breastfeeding #StepUpforBreastfeeding #MaternityProtection
#ParentalSocialProtection #EmpoweringParentsCampaign #WBW2022 #ILO #MayDay
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For more information, please contact:

Thinagaran Letchimanan: thina <thina at waba.org.my>@waba.org.my
<thina at waba.org.my>
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