Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) - Serbia (Ratification: 2010)

Article 8(2) of the Convention. Remuneration after maternity leave. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, after maternity leave, parental leave or special leave for childcare, the employee shall be reinstated into the post set out in the employment contract. However, the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) indicates that, in practice, after maternity leave, women who return to work face a reduction in their wage on the grounds that they will have lost the capacity for work that they would have acquired if they had not been absent. This wage reduction appears in a rider to the employment contract. The Confederation emphasizes the difficulty of providing proof of harassment or discrimination of the employee. The Committee recalls that, under Article 8(2) of the Convention, at the end of the maternity leave a woman is guaranteed the right to return to the same position or an equivalent position paid at the same rate. In view of these comments, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the application of Article 8(2) of the Convention is ensured in law and practice.

Article 10. Nursing breaks. The Government indicates that there is no provision on nursing breaks or the reduction of hours of work for breastfeeding as employees are entitled to leave of up to two years. The Government also indicates that amendments will be made to the Labour Law to enable women who wish to work to benefit from daily breaks to breastfeed their child. The Committee hopes that these amendments will be adopted shortly and that they will ensure the full application of this Article of the Convention in national law.