To ensure working women's rights to maternity protection through ILO Conventions, a coalition of NGOs was formed, including the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), International Lactation Counsellers Association (ILCA) and the Linkages Project, with Technical support from UNICEF and the International Maternal and Child Health Section, Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH). A WABA Workshop, "Women and Work - From Human Rights to Creative Solutions" was arranged to plan a strategy for the work.    

Then an amazing opportunity arose to strengthen international support for the breastfeeding rights of working women. For only the second time since 1919, the International Labor Organization decided to revise its Maternity Protection Convention. Partly through hard work and strategic action, the Coalition was able to join governments, unions, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and others in successfully advocating the passage through the ILO Conference in June 2000 of Maternity Protection Convention 183 and Recommendation 191. Click here to read more background information.  

Here you can read about the gains and losses compared to the previous convention, from the MPC perspective.  

Now let's join forces to ensure ratification of Convention 183 and implementation into national legislation of its provisions, those of Recommendation 191, which is even stronger. The Recommendation calls for 18 instead of 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, but the MPC calls for six months of paid leave to cover the entire period during which exclusive breastfeeding is recommended. Here are some ideas for action!