Call on Malta to ratify maternity convention

Malta has so far failed to ratify an important convention that provides mothers with the right to frequent breaks or a daily reduction of hours at work to breastfeed their children.

Christine Borg of the Malta Breastfeeding Foundation said that Malta had not ratified the International Labour Organisation's C183 Maternity Protection Convention 2000, which had been endorsed by 13 countries.

This convention says that the nursing breaks and procedures for the reduction of daily hours of work shall be determined by national law and practice. These breaks shall be counted as working time and remunerated accordingly.

Ms Borg also pointed out that Malta had not even endorsed ILO C156 Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention of 1981, which strives to create an effective equality of opportunity for male and female workers.

Ms Borg raised these issues during a half-day seminar on the EU Directive on Pregnant Mothers and Women who have given birth or are breastfeeding, which was adopted by Malta.

Organised by the Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations at St James Cavalier, Valletta, the seminar, chaired by Romina Bartolo, was intended to make women more aware of their rights.

Ms Borg insisted that employers had to work to ensure a breastfeeding culture was reinforced and mothers should not be put in a position where they had to deprive their baby of breastfeeding because of work commitments.

Among the speakers was Mark Gauci, Occupational Health and Safety Authority chairman, who highlighted the salient features of the directive.

The directive considers pregnant workers to be part of a "vulnerable group", which includes young/old workers, persons on medication or receiving treatment, and persons with a disability, among others.

There were a number of aspects to pregnancy, such as morning sickness, backaches and circulatory problems, which required adjustments to the work organisation. However, pregnancy should never be equated with sickness.

Dr Gauci pointed out that employers with more than 20 workers should have a health and safety representative, elected by the workers, to carry out risk assessment. So far, only 30 per cent of employers had such a representative. It was in the interests' of workers to have such a representative who could highlight their needs.