Module 4: Maternity Protection at work: Who are the main stakeholders?

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Maternity Protection Resource Package From
Aspiration to Reality for All
Module 4Maternity Protection at workWho are
the main stakeholders?
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Key contents
This module reviews the roles and means of
actionfor improving maternity protection of the
followingkey stakeholders

• Government
• Employers andtheir organizations
• Trade unions
• Civil society
• Universities and research centres

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Maternity Protection at workWho are the main
stakeholders?
Many stakeholders play an important role in
achieving universal maternity protection.

• Governments
• Employers and their organizations
• Trade unions
• Civil Society
• Universities and research centres

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Government (1)
Governments have the main task of drafting,
adopting, implementing and monitoring legislation
including in the area of maternity protection

• Policy research to be able to decide on policy,
  a concrete assessment of maternity protection
  needs to be made
• Ratifying ILO conventions the government's
  responsibility to decide whether or not to abide
  by international standards
• Labour law and social security plays a key role
  in promoting universal social security and labour
  law that allows for maternity protection
• Implementation, monitoring and enforcement make
  sure that all initiatives in favour of maternity
  protection receive proper funding and adequate
  resources for their enforcement
• Promoting social dialogue leading discussions
  and consultations between all important
  stakeholders

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Government (2)
Examples of what can be done

• Adopt the principles of Convention No. 183 and
  consider its ratification
• Strengthen legal frameworks and fiscal space for
  social security, with particular attention to
  maternity protection cover
• Ensure staffing, training, funding and tools for
  the labour inspectorate on maternity protection
• Establish an independent complaints body and
  mechanism to which employees and employers can
  accede without risking their employment, and
  ensure adequate staffing, funding, and training
  for it
• Improve support for the range and quality of
  workplace health facilities, including preventive
  health education and maternity care, and support
  for workplace measures to prevent transmission of
  HIV with voluntary and confidential health checks
  and counselling
• Raise public awareness and publicize these issues
  widely
• Review legislation for employment protection and
  non-discrimination provisions on the basis of
  maternity including the all-important clause of
  the burden of proof on the employer

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Employers and their organizations
Employers are responsible for maternity
protection obligations under the law and can
adopt workplace policies and provide the
frameworks for workplace rules and actions to
prevent and avoid pregnancy-related
discrimination and risks to health.

• Employers organizations can
• Advise their members on legal provisions
• Inform and influence Government during the
  preparatory stages of new legislation
• Contribute to international debates and law on
  maternity protection
• Promote the idea that maternity protection and
  equal opportunity and treatment in practice
  contributes to better business and a healthy
  society
• Spread information on how enterprises with good
  practices have been efficient and successful
• Participate in the public debate on equality
  issues

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Trade unions
Trade unions have a vital role to play in raising
awareness and improving maternity protection in
the workplace and beyond. They can

• Advocate for improvements in national and
  international law and practice
• Underscore statutory rights in collective
  bargaining agreements(CBAs see below)
• Improve upon legislation through CBAs
• Assist workers in defending their rights
• Raise awareness on maternity protection at work
• Consult and represent women workers
• Negotiate collective agreements on maternity
  protection issues with employers and employers
  organizations
• Develop gender-sensitive approaches to
  occupational safety and health
• Contribute to research efforts and make womens
  experiences at work visible

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Employers and trade unionsCollective bargaining
agreements
Collective bargaining agreements are

• The result of collective bargaining between
  employers and trade unions
• Written agreements that contain all the terms and
  conditions of employment
• Legally binding for a short- to medium-term
  period, and are usually renewed after their
  expiry
• They can serve several purposes in terms of
  maternity protection
• To implement minimum standards as defined in
  national legislation
• To improve upon minimum standards as defined in
  national legislation
• To set new models which are more effective than
  national legislation

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Civil society, universities andresearch centres
The role of civil society is very wide-ranging,
from advocacy and lobbying, research, services,
and monitoring on a range of aspects related to
maternity protection.

• Universities and research centres play a key role
  in
• Helping shape, monitor and evaluate policy
• Surveying, assessing and developing responses for
  maternity protection
• Bringing technical expertise and human resources
  to other stakeholders

Partnerships Collaboration between stakeholders
can drive creative solutions to improve maternity
protection
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Key points

• The key partners of governments in maternity
  protection are employer and worker
  representatives of national or local
  organizations.
• Governments are responsible for leading the
  development of legislation and social security in
  consultation with other stakeholders, as well as
  for implementing, enforcing and monitoring these
  laws.
• Employers organizations can contribute to
  national and international debates and laws,
  advise and assist members on legal provisions and
  share good practices among members.
• Employers, in collaboration with workers and
  their representatives, have a primary role in
  conforming working conditions to national law and
  practice, through workplace policies and
  negotiated agreements.
• Trade unions can campaign for improvements in
  maternity protection in national and
  international law, can provide information and
  education for their members, and are responsible
  for negotiating collective bargaining agreements
  that include elements of maternity protection.
• Civil society can also lead action at the
  community level with the aim of improving working
  and living conditions including as these relate
  to maternity protection and workers with family
  responsibilities.
• Universities and research centres can be
  important partners in designing and publishing
  research that can credibly inform, help shape,
  monitor and evaluate public policy.

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