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ILO / MATERNITY BENEFITS
STORY: ILO/ MATERNITY BENEFITS
TRT: 2:17
SOURCE: ILO
RESTRICTIONS: EMBARGOED TUESDAY, 13 MAY 2014 00:01 GMT
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12 MAY 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND /RECENT
1. Med shot, report
2. Wide shot, conference room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Shauna Olney, Chief of the ILO Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch:
"It shows that at least 830 million women workers do not yet have adequate maternity protection in terms of leave and income security. Almost 80 percent of these women are in Africa and Asia."
4. Pan right, conference room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Shauna Olney, Chief of the ILO Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch:
"There is growing recognition of the link with gender equality and also of the importance of the role of fathers in child development. Research suggests for example, the links between leave for fathers, take up of family responsibilities and child development."
6. Tilt up, journo flipping though report
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Laura Addati, Maternity Protection and Work-family Specialist from the ILO’s Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch:
"Maternity discrimination persists around the world, everywhere, independently of the level of development. And this is also despite the fact that all countries surveyed, but 20, explicitly prohibit discrimination during pregnancy, maternity leave and the period following women’s return to work."
8. Close up, book
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Laura Addati, Maternity Protection and Work-family Specialist from the ILO’s Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch:
"U.S. data show that 12 per cent of private sector workers have access to paid leave, and when we look in particular to low wage workers, this rate drops at 5 per cent. And basically what we see in terms of the consequence for society is that many women - one out of five who don’t have access to family leave - declare that their choice, their leave choice is to drop out of the labour force. This is an enormous waste of talent."
RECENT– MARCH 2014, NEW YORK CITY
10. Various shots, Marie Holmes, New York high school teacher on maternity leave with second child
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has said in a new report that most countries have adopted maternity protection provisions since 1919, when the ILO adopted the first Maternity Protection Convention, yet at least 830 million women workers still don’t have adequate protection.
In its report, ‘Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and practice across the world’, the ILO said 66 countries out of 185 countries and territories have committed to at least one of three maternity protection Conventions adopted in 1919, 1952 and in 2000.
The report compares national laws in 185 countries and territories with the most recent ILO standards.
Regarding health and safety, 111 out of 160 countries have laws on dangerous or unhealthy work affecting pregnant or nursing women and 78 set out explicit prohibitions against such work.
In terms of maternity leave, no country has cut its length since 1994 and there has been a gradual shift towards leave periods that meet or exceed the 14-week ILO standard.
Only three of 185 countries and territories provide no statutory cash benefits during maternity leave and more than 100 countries now finance benefits through social security, reducing employers’ contribution.
When it comes to discrimination protection, all but 20 of 165 countries had explicit prohibitions against discrimination during pregnancy and leave.
Despite overall strides, maternity discrimination persists in all countries, the report said. Around the world, most women, numbering around 830 million workers, still do not have adequate maternity protection in terms of leave and income security around childbirth.
Almost 80 per cent of these women work in Africa and Asia where some groups of workers are excluded from protection in law and in practice. This is often the case for self-employed, migrant, domestic, agricultural, casual or temporary workers, and indigenous and tribal peoples.
These are also the regions where employer liability schemes are more prevalent, informal work is predominant and maternal and child mortality ratios are still very high.
In addition to maternity protection legislation, many countries also have measures to support working fathers.
Leave provisions for fathers are most common in developed economies, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Paternity leave is paid in 70 out of 78 countries where there is entitlement.
The report urges governments to adopt and implement inclusive laws and policies for effective protection, noting that assessing gaps in current frameworks is a first step.
However, the report recommends that employers should not have to bear the full cost of benefits and that resources should be pooled through social insurance or public funds and social care services to take the weight off employers and promote non-discrimination at work.
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