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 non-compulsory 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 earnings or of such of those earnings as
are taken into account for the purpose of computing benefits.
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) 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) work requiring special equilibrium;
(d) 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 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 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, 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.