All ILO Newsroom content

November 2012

1. 

   Rights at work

   Maternity protection: Not just a personal issue

   23 November 2012

   Many countries have ratified ILO conventions on maternity protection, but pregnant women still face workplace discrimination. Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), the ILO publishes guidelines on how to implement maternity protection policies.

August 2012

1. 

   News item

   Allow moms to breastfeed at work

   03 August 2012

   World Breastfeeding Week (Aug 1-7) is celebrated in more than 170 countries to encourage the practice and improve the health of babies. Marking the occasion, the ILO highlights the importance of allowing breastfeeding at the workplace.

October 2011

1. 

   News item

   First Lady of the Republic of Zambia calls for urgent ratification of ILO Maternity Protection Convention

   14 October 2011

   In an address to a Special Focus discussion on Women at the 12th ILO African Regional Meeting, The First Lady of the Republic of Zambia urged African countries to rapidly ratify the Maternity Protection Convention (183) of the International Labour Organization to speed up women’s social and economic empowerment in the region.

June 2010

1. 

   Interview

   Questions and answers about maternity at work

   23 June 2010

   Maternity protection has been a primary concern of the ILO since its creation, in 1919, when the first International Labour Conference adopted the first Maternity Protection Convention No. 3. A new publication on the state of maternity protection in the world has just been released by the ILO. Interview with Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO Conditions of Work and Employment Programme, about achievements made and persisting challenges for maternity protection, including the impact of the current economic and employment crises.

2. 

   Video

   Maternity Protection in Tanzania

   16 June 2010

   Over 80 per cent of women in Tanzania work. They also play an important role fundamental to Tanzania's future: they give birth. Reconciling these different roles is not always easy and women are often faced with an impossible choice between ensuring their families' economic well-being and raising healthy children. The ILO, the Tanzanian government, its trade unions and employers' organizations are working together to help move the country closer towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.

July 2008

1. 

   Video

   Protecting Maternity in Cambodia’s Textile Factories

   14 July 2008

   Many women in Cambodia risk losing their jobs when they become pregnant. But most textile factories monitored by the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia programme now offer maternity protection to their employees. For Ros Kimsreng, she now has the opportunity of keeping a good job and providing for her family’s future.

October 2007

1. 

   Video

   Uganda: Maternity leave brings protection to women security guards and their employer

   17 October 2007

   All African women work. Very few women work in formal workplaces. Even fewer expect to keep their job when they have a baby, much less get maternity leave. But that is not the case for a group of women security guards in Uganda. As ILO TV reports, in an industry where it's a surprise to find women at work, both workers and employer are finding advantages in unionization and maternity leave.