Women in Bangladesh have no explicit protection against dismissal related to maternity, or they do not have any protection at all, according to the findings of a latest study of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The study report identified a total of 13 countries in this regard, of which seven are in Africa (including Congo, Mauritania, and Zimbabwe), five are in Asia and the Pacific (including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Iran), and only one (Antigua and Barbuda) is in the Americas.
Bangladesh is also one of the 34 countries that still use blanket prohibitions against night work, putting all women at risk of discrimination.
"At present, 14.8 per cent of all potential mothers live in the countries with such provisions. In four countries - Bangladesh, Malaysia, Morocco and Oman - all women cannot be obliged to do night work; while there is a general prohibition of night work for all women in 34 countries," read the report.
The ILO report - "Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender-equal world of work" - was published on Monday, a day before International Women's Day (Tuesday).
It found that three in ten women of reproductive age, or 649 million women, have inadequate maternity protection that does not meet the key requirements of the ILO's Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183).
The convention mandates minimum 14-week maternity leave on at least two-thirds of previous earnings, funded by social insurance or public funds.
Eighty-two of the 185 countries surveyed for the report did not meet these standards, although "paid maternity leave or maternity protection is a universal human and labour right," the study noted.
At the current pace of reform it will take at least 46 years to achieve minimum maternity leave rights in the countries analysed, which means the relevant target of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be met.
The report provides a global overview of national laws and practices regarding care policies, namely maternity protection, paternity, parental and other care-related leave policies, as well as childcare and long-term care services.
The need for long-term care services for elderly persons and those with disabilities has been rising steeply because of increased life expectancy and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
There is no provision of a public long-term care service system for old persons in Bangladesh, it said, adding however, statutory family obligations exist to care for elderly relatives.
The ILO study found that access to services, such as - residential care, community day services and in-home care, remains inaccessible to the great majority of those who need those worldwide, although "long-term care services are essential to ensure the right to healthy ageing in dignity".
It found "a strong investment case" for creating a transformative package of care policies, based on universal access, which would create a breakthrough pathway for building a better and more gender-equal world of work.
Investment in gender-equal leave, universal childcare, and long-term care services could generate up to 299 million jobs by 2035, it noted.
Closing these policy gaps would require an annual investment of US$5.4 trillion (equivalent to 4.2 per cent of total annual GDP) by 2035, some of which could be offset by an increase in tax revenue from the additional earnings and employment.
"We need to re-think the way we provide care policies and services, so that they form a continuum of care that provides children with a good start, supports women to stay in employment, and prevents families or individuals falling into poverty," said Manuela Tomei, Director, ILO Conditions of Work and Equality Department.
"Plugging these care gaps should be seen as an investment that not only supports health and livelihoods, but fundamental rights, gender equity and greater representation too."
Meantime, ILO Bangladesh Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen, in a statement on Monday, said, "In Bangladesh, the labour law provides for maternity leave for four months with full pay for a maximum of two children - in order to enable women's participation in the workplace. It is also encouraging to know that the government is working to introduce paternity leave."
The ILO, in addition, is supporting the government in training highly skilled caregivers, and referring them to decent work employment opportunities in Bangladesh and abroad.
So far, the demand by youth for these training opportunities in the care sector has been enthusiastic, and skilled employment in the care sector is expected to rise significantly, following long-term demographic and socio-economic trends, Mr Poutiainen noted.
''Investing in the care sector is both an important enabling factor for women's participation in the workplace, and at the same time highly skilled caregiver jobs are an important source of decent work employment accessible to women. That is why the ILO supports the initiatives by the government in this sector,'' he added.
