Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3) - Argentina (Ratification: 1933)

Article 3(c) of the Convention. The Committee notes that since 1977, the Government has provided no detailed information on the nature of the medical benefits available to women workers during their absence on maternity leave. It therefore requests the Government to indicate which legislative or statutory provisions guarantee access for women workers to free attendance by a doctor or certified midwife, in accordance with this provision of the Convention.

Article 4. The Committee recalls that section 177(3), of Act No. 20744 concerning employment contracts guarantees stability of employment for the woman worker during pregnancy and after her confinement. However, the Committee notes that, according to information provided by the Government in its report, the presumption of section 178 of this Act, that any dismissal during the seven-and-a-half months before or following the date of confinement is motivated by the woman's pregnancy, is no longer irrefutable but can be refuted if evidence is provided to the contrary. The Committee is bound to emphasize that under the terms of Article 4 of the Convention, it is unlawful for the employer to dismiss a woman during her absence on maternity leave or at such a time that the period of notice would expire during such absence. The Committee trusts that the Government will re-examine the issue and take the necessary measures to give full effect to this provision of the Convention.