The Ministry of Social Protection has begun consultations geared at ensuring that all pregnant women on the job are protected and their human rights upheld in accordance with the Constitution.
This follows a recent outcry over three women who were sacked by the city constabulary due to their pregnancy. The three ranks were subsequently reinstated but there were calls for the rules in place at military and paramilitary organisations to be discarded as they were not in accordance with the Constitution.
Minister in the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes has since directed the Chief Labour Officer and the ministry’s legal officer to examine the policy in place regarding pregnancy and to advise her on how best to remove it and several others that were not updated to reflect changes in human rights laws. Similar policies exist within the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
On Saturday, Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence hosted the first in a series of interactions with key stakeholders including paramilitary organisations to explore issues of employment policies and social protection, a statement from the Ministry said. The spotlight was on addressing the human rights of employees and the violation of the right to be employed and pregnant came under focus.
Among the organizations that participated were the GDF, the GPF, the Guyana Fire Service, the Guyana Prisons Service, the City Constabulary of the Mayor and City Council, and the Ministries of Health, Education, and Public Security.
The statement said that Lawrence acknowledged that while pregnant employees may require time off and may become incapable of tasks they previously performed on the job, employers should be realistic.
An act of life
“Pregnancy is not a condition, it’s an act of life. It’s the very act that keeps us as a human race from being extinct. Hence, as employers, we can ill afford to disallow it or worse yet seek to prevent it through (discriminatory) policy making,” she was quoted as saying.
“These retrogressive policies which we have seen coming to light recently in Guyana were inherited through policies made during the era of colonialism. These policies were designed to oppress. Those days are gone, and so those policies must go too. The law is clear. Females cannot be dismissed because they become pregnant or for reasons connected to their pregnancy,” the Minister asserted.
According to the statement, Lawrence said that achieving gender equality remains an ongoing challenge across the world, especially in developing countries. Culture, traditions, archaic policies and laws, and exploitation, remain critical barriers to gender equality, but she noted that the Guyana Constitution as well as the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, offer protection to women.
“If you do terminate a female’s employment because of pregnancy, it’s discrimination as is stated in the Prevention of Discrimination Act…It’s no secret that this government intends to preserve the rights of all vulnerable groups including women and children and we are about to embark on formulating a national gender policy to deal with issues like these,” Lawrence was quoted as saying.
She said that during preliminary consultations, “the ideas of paternity leave, the extension of maternity leave, the payment of maternity benefits by employers, of time off for prenatal clinics, the importance of post-natal breast feeding, these are all termed employee maternity benefits which are sanctioned by the ILO.”
Historical imbalance
The statement said that Lawrence reminded her audience that men have rights too and these must be protected at work as well, “but I’m sure you would agree that we cannot have (a) gender neutral approach if we are aware of this historical imbalance. For us to correct these, we must mainstream gender in the work place with a human rights-based approach, and this entails providing for the biological differences in women.”
Pointing to the historical prejudices where women could not engage in paid work, Lawrence said that the present situation is a cosmetic improvement as inequalities still exist. “However, the world is rapidly changing, and the social protection we offer our employees must be adjusted to reflect those changes. Hence, I have requested this engagement with you today to determine what the workplace policies are in your organizations, and for us to collectively determine whether they are in compliance with the laws of Guyana, and if there is room for improvement. Let us see how we can work together to make it happen,” she urged.
The minister said that while some of these policies were designed for efficiency at work, they were not done with a human face and “when our policies violate workers’ rights, it is damaging to the nation as a whole.”
The statement said that Ministry is being supported in the process by the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and its Country Representative Patrice La Fleur noted that Guyana has often been in the spotlight championing women’s rights. However, she noted that some sectors, especially the paramilitary organisations have held on to archaic policies.
La Fleur pointed out that Guyana has signed on to several international instruments that bestow obligations and the country is bound to uphold its commitments. Nevertheless, the challenge is that in spite of signing, Guyana is still to put in place mechanisms to aid implementation. She said that the country needs to boost its engagement of women, especially those at the grassroots to better empower them.
The statement also noted that the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association participated in the meeting and its Director Patrica Sheeratan-Bisnauth said that family planning is key to addressing the issue. She noted that everyone lives and experiences life differently and it is important that sexual and reproductive rights and health be addressed with the dimension of gender equality.
According to the official, family planning is not just an activity for the home but is critical in the employment relationship especially where some employers feel that pregnancy disrupts their work. She also highlighted key roles for religious leaders in the quest.
The statement disclosed that some of the issues that surfaced included the need for paternity leave and extension of the maternity leave; sex, social media and youths; daycare facilities; time-off to attend to young children; the availability of schools and day care centres close to places of work; unpaid maternity leave; provisions for service employees on shift system who are pregnant or have young babies; the right to gratuity for contract workers on maternity leave; and the need for greater information, education and communication of laws that govern workers’ rights.
Lawrence said that the issues will be considered and additional meetings will be held as the government continues its outreach to correct those workplace policies which violate the Constitution.
