182.91 Officialjournalofthe European Communities NoC^29 
would appeal totheEederalCovernmenttotaloe the 
initiative once more and explain to the European 
Council thefmancial policy decisions to be tal^en to 
meet the cost of Cerman unity and the overall economic 
Done at Brussels, 20 November 1990. 
1. Ceneral comments 
1.1. The Committee can endorse the proposal which 
rightly linl^s the protection of health and safety of 
pregnant v^omen,or women v^hohaverecentlygiven 
birth,with the maintenance of employment and income 
rights. Theproposalis also welcomemthatitintro 
duces measures which mal^e maternity easier and which 
could help to redress the demographic imbalance affect 
ing most EC member States, not least the ageing of the 
population. consequences for other member States. This first step 
would certainly dispelanumber of fears and goalong 
way towards getting member States towers together 
even more closely in the economic field, too. 
1.2. In line with thenghts and measures foreseen 
intheSocialCharter and accompanying social action 
programme, the proposal is also in accord with the 
views expressed in relevant Committee Opinions as 
regards 
— basic Community social rights^),inwhich it was 
stressed^the rights of child, mother and family to 
legal and economic protection, 
— the burden of proofs, in which it was stated that 
good employment practices and modern personnel 
techniques needed to deter potential discrimination 
on se^ grounds, Opinion on theproposal for a Council Directive concerning theprotection at workof 
pregnant women or women who have recently given births 
(91BC^1B08) 
On 22 October 1990, the Council of the European Communities decided to consult the 
Economic and Social Committee, under Article 119A of theTreaty establishing the European 
Economic Commumty,on the abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Social, Eamily,Educational and Cultural Affairs,which was responsible for 
preparing the Committee^sworl^ on the subject, adopted its Opinion on leoNovember!990. 
The rapporteur was Airs RangoniAiachiavelh. 
At its 281st plenary session (meeting of 20 November 1990) the Economic and Social 
Committee adopted the following Opinion with no dissentingvotes but with five abstentions. 
^oi^e^ig^ni^D^ ^oi^^e^7,^ ^^^^^i^ 
No C 41/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 2. 91 
parental leave i1), in which it was argued that such 
leave, linked with employment guarantees, is a cost-
effective way of facilitating not only a return to 
the labour market but also a return on training 
investment, in view of the significant number of 
previously employed women who do not, or cannot, 
always return to work after motherhood. 
— health and safety at the workplace, in which the 
Committee has consistently defended the need for 
all workers to be covered by preventive occu­
pational health and safety measures. 
1.3. The current measures proposed by the Com­
mission — concerning maternity leave, work-related 
rights and dismissal, night-time working and protection 
against certain agents and work processes — form a 
coherent health and safety package. The obvious medi­
cal need for pregnant women to take maternity leave, 
for example, should not be subjected to, or nullified 
by, possible dismissal for reasons connected to their 
pregnancy. Likewise, the possible health risks to preg­
nant women working on Visual Display Units (VDU), 
for example, should not impede the retention of such 
trained employees under alternative transitory con­
ditions of service and/or remuneration. The same health 
and safety considerations, linked to employment rights, 
apply to women who have recently given birth and 
who may temporarily require a more adaptable work 
schedule and an available alternative to night work. 
1.4. Such basic social rights, integral to the health 
and safety of the women concerned, need to be affirmed 
at Community level, especially in the context of 1992 
and the break-up of national barriers to employment, 
enterprise and mobility. The proposed measures, estab­
lishing minimum EC-wide requirements in this complex 
sphere of the working environment, conform to the 
provisions set out in the Single European Act and also 
are consistent with the goal of establishing 'social 
cohesion' and an authentic 'people's Europe'. The pro­
posal rightly leaves ample space and responsibility in 
the matter both to Member Governments and to the 
competent authorities throughout the Community, as 
well as to other social partners. In order to provide 
fuller protection to the health of pregnant women and 
women who have recently given birth, and so as not to 
disadvantage women in the job market, the Committee 
considers that preventive and protective measures are 
needed for both male and female reproductive health. 
The Committee therefore asks the Commission to draw 
up appropriate amendments to framework Directive 
89/391. 
{l) OJ No C 206, 6. 8. 1984, point 2.3. 1.5. The Committee is pleased to note that relevant 
international instruments, especially the Conventions 
of the International Labour Organization (ILO), have 
been used and referred to by the Commission as a 
consensual basis for drawing up the proposal. 
1.6. The Committee welcomes the Commission's 
accompanying assessment of the projected impact of 
the proposal on small and medium-sized enterprises 
(SME). It is particularly important that the measures 
taken by Member States do not impose excessive costs 
on these enterprises. Other particular sectors of activity 
(for example farming and the liberal professions) might 
be given similar consideration. The Directive should 
apply to women who undertake part-time and fixed-
term contracts. 
1.7. The Committee is confident that the proposal 
will help guarantee and promote more flexible, more 
socially-aware and therefore more sustainable forms of 
modern personnel management, improving throughout 
the Community the insertion and efficient retention of 
women workers in a radically changing labour market. 
Indeed, in the last few decades there has been an 
increase in the number of working mothers across the 
Community and plenty of examples that good 
maternity provisions do not deter employers from 
employing women. Such good employment practices 
can help to ensure real free choice amongst women in 
exercising the rights and responsibilities of motherhood 
along with their entitlement to employment under safe 
and healthy conditions. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. In line with the above-stated general comments, 
the legal basis for the proposal (Article 118a) is endorsed 
as the appropriate Article for a Directive dealing essen­
tially with the health and safety of workers. 
2.2. Article 3 
The Committee considers that the evaluations outlined 
in Article 3(1), in respect to exposure of pregnant 
women to chemical, physical or biological agents and 
also in respect of posture, movements and mental and 
physical fatigue related to their work, are particularly 
important. However, the way in which Article 3(1) 
is drafted could develop different standards in each 
Member State. The wording should be re-examined. 
Increasing both employers' and workers' awareness of 
possible work-related risks of this sort is a prerequisite 
to effective preventive action. 
18. 2. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 41/31 
Article 3(3), ensuring an alternative to night work dur­
ing pregnancy and the lactation period, is considered 
to be particularly important, and its provisions are 
endorsed. 
At all events, Member States must take measures to 
ensure that: 
a) during pregnancy, and 
b) during a specified period after childbirth, which 
should at least cover the lactation period, 
women are under no circumstances obliged to engage 
in night work. 
2.3. Article 5 
The proposed uninterrupted period of at least 14 weeks 
maternity leave from work would seem a reasonable 
basic guarantee, given that such a period, and in some 
cases more, is already granted in most Member States. 
In some Member States entitlement to maternity meas­
ures is conditional on a minimum period of employ­
ment. Such arrangements should not be prejudiced. The 
proposed level of pay and/or allowance is endorsed. 
The Directive might state more clearly, however, what is already pointed out in the explanatory memorandum, 
that these are minimum requirements, without preju­
dice to further legislative advances in those Member 
States so inclined. The proposal should also be coupled 
with, or complemented by, guidelines and measures 
to help promote better child-care provisions, so that 
working mothers could be able to carry on with their 
work after pregnancy instead of being obliged to stay 
at home. Before fixing the subdivision of the leave, the 
relevant authority should check on the hazardousness 
and onerousness of the job. Periods of sickness, as 
provided under Article 5(1), require a more precise defi­
nition. 
2.4. Articles 6 and 7 
Article 6(2) should be reworded to read: 
'Member States shall take the appropriate measures 
to prohibit the dismissal of the women referred to 
in Article 2...' 
The Committee would again urge the adoption of draft 
Directives on modifying the burden of proof and on 
parental leave, which would help reinforce the current 
minimum measures in question as regards dismissal and 
the specific situation of women workers concerned. 
Done at Brussels, 20 November 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN 
APPENDIX 
to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
The following amendment, which was supported by at least a quarter of the votes cast, was defeated during 
the debate: 
Page 4, point 2.1. 
Add as a further sentence: 
'However, such a legal base may be inappropriate for specific provisions dealing with matters of employment 
law and pay.' 
Reason 
Article 118a refers specifically, and only, to 'improvements, especially in the working environment, as regards 
the health and safety of workers'. It does not embrace the employment rights and remuneration of employees. 
Voting 
For: 47, against: 85, abstentions: 4.