Fundamental Human Rights : The right to live free of discrimination and harassment is a fun­damental human right. Society and Social Justice: Maternity protec­tion allows women and their partners to make decisions about their babies and the care of these babies without fear of discrimination or the loss of employment. Protection that allows women to carry out their biological role of bearing and nursing children whilst maintain­ing their productive roles as workers benefits everyone in society. Health : Maternity protection supports the de­velopment of the individual health of the mother and child. Families : Protecting women workers during pregnancy, after birth and whilst nursing is good for families too. Protection that ensures job and income security means those families can enjoy and treasure the experience of birth and childcare. It also means that decisions about child bearing can be made in an atmo­sphere free from financial and employment anxiety. Employers : Maternity protection can assist employers to maintain experienced, skilled and valued women employees. Maternity protection will assist women to make the decision to return to work. Governments : Maternity protection which ensures that women can continue to contribute to a country's economic growth, and which maintains women citizens and their chil­dren in a healthy state is good for governments. This pro­tection will ensure that a government's scarce resources can be utilized elsewhere. Maternity protection supports the de­velopment of a healthy population. Children : A society that values children protects them. Maternity protection is also about providing a healthy en­vironment for babies.	I LO STANDARDS
	Maternity protection Maternity protection is essential for the achieve­ment of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment since these measures are designed to ensure that ma­ternity should not restrict women workers from exercising their right to work or constitute grounds for discrimination against them. Most countries provide statutory maternity pro­tection measures, but the scope of such mea­sures and their quality vary greatly. ILO stan­dards call for the right to maternity leave, in­cluding a compulsory period to be taken after birth; the provision of cash benefits to replace lost income; job security during maternity leave; and the provision of nursing breaks. Various measures aimed at protecting the health of the mother and child are also recommended. They include measures to adapt working conditions or regulate work that may harm the outcome of the pregnancy. Governments should ensure that national labour legislation provides for a satis­factory level of maternity protection. Priority should be given, according to national circumstances, to the strengthening of social se­curity systems or other public or collective ar­rangements for the financing of maternity ben­efits and to the gradual extension of maternity protection to all working women.
STRONG STANDARDS OF MATERNITY PROTECTION BENEFIT ALL OF US, MEN, WOMEN, YOUNG, OLD, EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES AND GOVERNMENTS.
MALAYSIA GOVERNMENTAL AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR'S ACTION PLAN With the increase of women employees in Malaysia, the government has taken into consideration maternity protection seriously. 1. CUEPAC5, The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), NUTP, the Malay­sian Employees Federation, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Health and PERKESO had a meeting with the Ministry of Women and Family Devel­opment to increase the current maternity leave to 90 days in the Public Sector. 2. Paternity leave of fourteen days is being persued. 3. A safe and healthy area for breast feeding and expressing milk is being considered. The propositions for Maternity Protection is applaudable, especially in assisting and protecting women workers in Malaysia. However, there are many prevailing circumstances where maternity protection and its enforcement are lacking in some Malaysian companies. This could be attributed to the ignorance and insufficient awareness of the workers and the indifferent attitude of the employers regarding the welfare of women workers.	MATERNITY LEAVE (Asia Pacific Region) Country Length of Leave % of Wages Bangladesh Cambodia China Fiji India Indonesia Iran Iraq Japan Jordan Lebanon Malaysia Myanmar Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Thailand 12 weeks 90 days 90 days 84 days 12 weeks 3 months 90 days 62 days 14 weeks 10 weeks 40 days 60 days 12 weeks 8 weeks 12 weeks 75 days 90 days 100 50 100 Flat rate 100 100 66.7 for 16 weeks 100 60 100 100 100 66.7 100 100 100 100 for 45 days then 50% for 45 days.
At present, there is a need to look into the restraints given to mothers who have 5 or more natural children in terms of the provision of maternity allowance. The word 'natural' is also a word that needs to be focused on especially in the employment Act as workers who adopt a child, are not entitled to any mater­nity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave or any other maternity benefits. A child care centre at the working place for public and private centre is definitely necessary for better development of the workers and children. The authority must look at the humanistic investment for the country's future. There has been tremendous improvement on women's status in Malaysia with more women in the Malaysian Cabinet. A special Ministry of Women Affairs have been formed. Laws including the Pension Act have been changed to provide more benefits to widows. Trade Unions in Malaysia have raised the following problems : • Negative impact created by globalisation. • Industrial conflict due to union busting. • Threat to weaken legal safeguards. The Malaysian Trades Union Congress has called for: • Comprehensive social secruity. • Minimum monthly salary of RM900. • Housing for workers. • Education and health care should not be privatised and must remain as an essential public service. • Recognise and enforce workers' right to join unions. • Strengthen the Tripartite Consultation. • Abolish the Internal Security ACT.

PHILIPPINES Campaign On Maternity Protection Launched on the International Day Of Action For Women's Health. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines, in collaboration with the Task Force May 28 partners, launched the national campaign on the legislation of International Labour Organization Convention 183 and its Recommendations into part of the law in the Philippines. This campaign coincided with the com­memoration of the 15th year of the International Day of Action for Women's Health where the banner is­sue raised was "women's reproductive health under threat." ACT Philippines came out with a photo exhibit on the realities of working women and their reproductive health. It exhibited also posters to make maternity protection a reality for all working women, and to legislate ILO Convention 183 and its subsequent Rec­ommendations as part of the domestic law. Interac­tive learning sessions characterized the cultural ex­hibit where group discussions on the situation of the reproductive health and rights of women and the ILO Convention 183 were the main agenda of the activ­ity while other participants engaged in ACT'S freehand painting, as an expression of their sentiments as mothers.

Cheering and dancing punctuated the May 28th affair which was participated by one thousand sixty-six (1, 066) participants in forty-six (46) organizations. The Civil Society State of the Nation's Address was held as a parallel activity to demonstrate the people's sentiments on the real state of the nation while on one hand, the President of the Philippine Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered her own version of the State of the Nation at the Philippine House of Congress. (fca, awn). "ACTS PHILIPPINES" ACTS !!