ACT identified 23 cases of disrespect for the breastfeeding law

The Working Conditions Authority (ACT) identified 10 irregularities that led to companies being fined for failing to comply with workers' right to breastfeed and issued 13 warnings to employers in the last five years.

Only in 2023 was no company fined, but there were always warnings for "infringements of legal regulations", ACT revealed to Lusa this Thursday, highlighting that the figures for 2024 and this year are still provisional.

At issue were three paragraphs of article 47 of the Labor Code, which defines the conditions for leave for breastfeeding for the mother or breastfeeding for the father.

The first paragraph states that "a mother who breastfeeds her child has the right to be excused from work for this purpose, for the duration of breastfeeding", but the ACT confirmed that some companies did not comply with this rule and therefore issued five fines and eight warnings in the last five years.

Another of the infractions identified was related to the clause that defines that “the daily leave for breastfeeding or breast-feeding is enjoyed in two distinct periods, with a maximum duration of one hour each, unless another regime is agreed with the employer”, resulting in five fines and four warnings.

There was also a company that in 2023 was warned for not correctly complying with the reduction in leave time for cases in which one of the parents works part-time: "The daily leave for breastfeeding or breast-feeding is reduced in proportion to the respective normal working period, and cannot be less than 30 minutes", reads the diploma that is being reviewed by the Government.

At the end of last month, the Government approved several changes to the Labor Law in the Council of Ministers, particularly regarding breastfeeding leave.

Currently, there is no time limit for breastfeeding, but the government wants to limit it to two years of age and require the presentation of a medical certificate every six months.

In an interview with TSF and Jornal de Notícias, the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security said there was abuse by some workers who were abusing their breastfeeding leave to work fewer hours.

The statements were strongly contested by associations and unions who argued that the problem was not with women but with employers, ensuring that even today there are many workers who do not take advantage of reduced hours for fear of reprisals.

The Commission for Equality in Work and Employment (CITE) received this year only one complaint “made by a woman regarding the violation of the right to leave for breastfeeding”, but did not receive any complaints from the employer of workers who were abusing this same right, CITE president Carla Tavares told Lusa.

The unions say these numbers are not representative of what is happening in companies and guarantee that they "continue to receive reports" of problems that occur throughout the country, especially in jobs with a greater presence of women, such as in the health, restaurant, commercial or industrial sectors.

"We have had several examples of limitations and even extreme situations" of workers being prevented from using breastfeeding leave, Fátima Messias, coordinator for the CGTP-IN Commission for Equality between Women and Men, told Lusa.

The union leader admitted that she did not have data on complaints, but assured that "the right to breastfeeding or lactation continues to be a right that is heavily pressured by employers", which leads many women to give up 'a priori' a right provided for by law.

"Workplace harassment situations end up creating limitations, intimidation, and self-limitation for many workers," warned Fátima Messias, acknowledging that these situations depend heavily on the mindset of those managing the teams.

"When it comes to capitalizing on the limited staff we have, we are destroying essential rights for children and mothers," he accused.

Fátima Messias considered that the legislation still in force “is positive in terms of maternity and paternity” and that it should not be changed, since “the right to breastfeeding for the mother and breastfeeding for the father is already duly clarified”.

"The problem is rape. Why does the government, instead of attacking employer violations and restrictions, attack mothers and children? It's inhumane, absurd, and Machiavellian. We know rapes occur, we know women are pressured, pregnant women are fired, but instead of attacking the perpetrators, they attack pregnant women and children," he emphasized.