Five things you should know about maternity protection in Africa

What is maternity protection at work?

Maternity protection at work covers five areas – maternity leave, cash and medical benefits, health protection at work, employment protection and non-discrimination and breastfeeding. ILO Convention 183 is meant to apply to all women, employed women and women in so-called atypical forms of employment, which is, women who work on fixed term contracts; casual, contract, seasonal and part-time workers, homeworkers, piece workers, temporary agency workers; unorganized, informal employees and women in disguised self-employment.

What is the current status for Africa?

African countries have adopted maternity protection provisions, yet only four of them ratified ILO Convention No. 183 while most states fell short of the standards. Out of 52 African countries analyzed by the ILO, 48 per cent provide at least 14 weeks of leave, and 35 per cent provide 12 to 13 weeks. Around one in five of the African countries provides less than 12 weeks of leave.

What are the key challenges in Africa?

In Africa, some groups of women workers are excluded from protection in law and in practice. This is also the region where informal work is predominant and maternal and child mortality ratios are still very high. Only a minority of women in employment (less than 10 per cent) are effectively protected with maternity leave cash benefits. Coverage in law in terms of maternity leave is 18 per cent of women workers in Africa with 21 African countries out of 52 providing a statutory right to maternity leave for less than 10 per cent of all employed women.

How does the ILO intervene and partner to provide sustainable solutions?

Making maternity protection a part of global, regional and national initiatives for improving maternal and newborn health helps bring women’s voices as workers to policy and programme responses. The ILO works together with other UN agencies to promote multisectoral approaches toward better maternal and newborn health. In Tanzania, for example, the ILO participates in the One UN programme on improving maternal health, where it is providing support to the Ministry of Labour, employers and trade unions to take forward awareness and action programmes to address workplace risks to reproductive and maternal health in agriculture, street vending and textile sectors, and to improve the working conditions and retention of health workers who are essential for delivering quality health services.

What are the key policy recommendations?

Make maternity protection and work-family measures universal and make eligibility criteria inclusive; Provide essential maternal health and income security around childbirth as part of basic social security guarantees; Prevent and eliminate discrimination against women and men with family responsibilities, including through labour inspection and compliance services; Reduce cost of maternity benefits on employers via collective pooling through social insurance or public funds; Create a supportive workplace culture by extending options for work-life balance, such as flexible work arrangements, to all employees; Support gender equality through the provision of high-quality, affordable and accessible childcare services.