Recommendation concerning the revision of the
Maternity Protection Recommendation, 1952
Recommendation:R191
Place:Geneva
Session of the Conference:88
Date of adoption:15:06:2000
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.
Members should endeavour to extend the period of
maternity leave referred to in Article 4 of the Convention to at least
18 weeks.
Provision should be made for an extension of the
maternity leave in the event of multiple births.
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.
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.
To the extent possible, the medical benefits provided for
in Article 6, paragraph 7, of the Convention should include:
care given in a doctor's office, at home or in a
hospital or other medical establishment by a general practitioner or a
specialist;
maternity care given by a qualified midwife or by
another maternity service at home or in a hospital or other medical
establishment
maintenance in a hospital or other medical
establishment;
any necessary pharmaceutical and medical supplies,
examinations and tests prescribed by a medical practitioner or other
qualified person; and
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.
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.
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.
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:
elimination of risk;
an adaptation of her conditions of work;
a transfer to another post, without loss of pay,
when such an adaptation is not feasible; or
paid leave, in accordance with national laws,
regulations or practice, when such a transfer is not feasible.
Measures referred to in subparagraph (2) should in
particular be taken in respect of:
arduous work involving the manual lifting,
carrying, pushing or pulling of loads;
work involving exposure to biological, chemical
or physical agents which represent a reproductive health hazard;
work requiring special equilibrium;
work involving physical strain due to prolonged
periods of sitting or standing, to extreme temperatures, or to
vibration.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Where practicable, provision should be made for the
establishment of facilities for nursing under adequate hygienic conditions
at or near the workplace.
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.
In the case of sickness or hospitalization of the
mother after childbirthj 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.
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.
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.
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.
