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This letter was sent on Wednesday 29 October
2003 in response to the article in The Independent (UK newspaper) below, Dear Letters Editor The ruling against Flight Lieutenant Helen Williams (Mothers lose right to breastfeed in workplace, 27 October) forces women to choose between an income and a healthy baby. Will the 101 women Labour MPs say nothing at this attack on mothers in waged jobs and their children? What about those who have breastfed in the Commons? Will they fight for other women to have that right? Is the Department of Health’s latest promotion of six months’ minimum breastfeeding, and concern for rising child obesity which breastfeeding helps prevent, only for mothers who can afford it? And what has the decision to do with this government’s allegiance to the formula industry? We’ve not forgotten that at the 1997 party conference, its organisers ordered the Unicef stall to remove publicity on corporate violations of the 1981 International WHO Code "as they were offending our [Nestlé] sponsors." This Code regulates the marketing of formula and Nestlé is the world's largest formula producer, part of an industry whose product is responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million babies a year, overwhelmingly in the South. Nestlé has violated the Code more than any other company. At the 2000 ILO Conference, where we lobbied to retain paid breastfeeding breaks in a new Maternity Protection Convention, the UK’s delegate from the Department of Trade & Industry opposed this statutory right. Most of the poorest countries in the South, along with many European countries, supported paid breaks and carried the vote. Still the UK refuses to implement the Convention and still women MPs are silent. Yours sincerely Solveig Francis Mothers lose right to breastfeed children at work Thousands of mothers have lost the right to breastfeed at work after an employment appeal tribunal ruled that women have no legal protection when they return to their employment after their statutory maternity period. The ruling reverses a previous decision that gave mothers the right to claim sex discrimination if employers failed to make proper provision for breastfeeding at work. In a judgment seen by The Independent but not yet published, Helen Williams, 31, a flight lieutenant with the RAF, has been told that her landmark victory last year cannot stand. Mrs Williams fell pregnant in January 2000 but was told that if she wished to continue to breastfeed beyond her maternity leave period she should take unpaid maternity leave. The RAF guidance on maternity arrangements also made clear that breastfeeding could not interfere with a servicewoman's operational duties. Although Mrs Williams wished to return from maternity leave on her agreed date and could not afford to take unpaid leave, she also wished to continue breastfeeding. She decided to resign. Last year the employment tribunal ruled that Mrs Williams had been discriminated against on the basis of her sex. Mrs Williams said then: "I am delighted that the outcome of the tribunal should bring about changes that will give women greater freedom to choose to breastfeed their child without having to compromise their careers or their financial stability." But the new judgment by the appeal tribunal rejects any such right to allow mothers to breastfeed at work. Julie Mellor, who chairs the Equal Opportunities Commission, which is supporting Mrs Williams, described the new ruling as a setback for working mothers. Mrs Mellor said: "Practical realities of modern mothers' lives mean that many women return to work while they are breastfeeding. " The appeal tribunal has ordered Mrs Williams' case to be reheard by a separate panel. The Health and Safety Executive has issued guidelines that include new risk assessments for mothers who have given birth within six months or who are breastfeeding. In its ruling the appeal tribunal acknowledged this, reinforcing an employer's duty to assess the job of a breastfeeding mother to ensure that it presented no threat to her health or that of her child. |