Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2003, Publicación: 92ª reunión CIT (2004)

Convenio sobre la protección de la maternidad, 1919 (núm. 3) - Argentina (Ratificación : 1933)

With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report. It notes in particular the Government’s reply to the communication from the Internal Trade Union Committee of Telefónica de Argentina alleging misuse of internships (pasantías) in the company’s call centres and pointing out that the interns were barred from the maternity benefits prescribed by the labour legislation. According to the Government, the pasantías system, established by Act No. 25.165 of 15 September 1999, was devised only for students in higher education who conclude agreements with certain approved enterprises or bodies in the public or the private sector, and the interns are in any event covered by their parents’ social insurance. Section 9 of Act No. 25.165 states that internships give rise to no relationship in law between the intern and the enterprise in which the internship takes place. The Government points out, however, that section 11 of the above Act allows internships of up to four years and a working week of up to 30 hours distributed over five days, the Committee observes that these periods may appear to be particularly long for a person undergoing training. Furthermore, being necessarily limited to health care, the protection provided by the parents’ social insurance is unable to meet all contingencies, particularly in the case of parents who do not work or who are deceased. In these circumstances and in view of the importance it attaches to maternity protection, the Committee hopes that the Government will reconsider this matter.

Article 3(c) of the Convention. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government. It notes with interest general resolution 247/96 of the Ministry of Health and Social Action approving a compulsory medical programme for health insurance workers under which the latter are covered for medical benefits that are consistent with this provision of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information, as required by Part V of the report form, on the practical implementation of the compulsory medical programme, including statistics on the number of employees covered by the programme in relation to the total number of employees, and the number of women workers who have received medical assistance during pregnancy, confinement and the postnatal period. It hopes that the Government will also be able to provide extracts of relevant reports by the Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud, established in 1998, which is the body responsible for supervising the operation of the health services nationwide, together with any available information on the number and nature of contraventions reported and penalties imposed.

Article 4. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government states that women who are pregnant or who are on maternity leave whose employment contracts are terminated shall receive social protection under section 10(a) of Act No. 23.660 on the scheme applying to Obras Sociales, for the three months following the termination. At the end of that period, the woman continues to receive free health care under the abovementioned compulsory medical programme. Noting this information, the Committee recalls that in its earlier comments it observed that the provisions of the national legislation (sections 177 and 178 of Act No. 20.744 on labour contracts) were not sufficient on their own to ensure that full effect is given to Article 4 of the Convention, under which employers may not give notice of dismissal while a woman worker is absent on maternity leave or at a time that the notice would expire during such absence. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will reconsider this matter and will be able to provide in its next report information on progress made in supplementing the abovementioned provisions of Act No. 20.744 on labour contracts, to ensure that this provision of the Convention is fully applied.