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D) Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights
Supervision Cycles 1) COMMITTEE OF INDEPENDENT EXPERTS, CONCLUSIONS XIII-1, 1992-93 Between December 1992 and December 1993, the Committee of Independent Experts carried out Supervision Cycle XIII-1 to monitor compliance with the European Social Charter. In this cycle, the Committee presented its conclusions concerning Articles 1 to 6, and conclusions concerning Articles 7 to 19 in respect of which a negative or adjourned conclusion was adopted during the cycle XII-1. Conclusions with regard to the following countries were presented: Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Here, we have included only those comments by the Committee that relate to reproductive and sexual health. The following Articles are mentioned: Article 4 of the Charter - The right to a fair remuneration; Article 8 - The right of employed women to protection; Article 11 - The right to protection of health; and Article 17 - The right of mothers and children to social and economic protection. The Committee asked all states which have accepted Article 8(1) to indicate in their next report under this provision if the payment of maternity benefits is subject to conditions as to the length of affiliation to a social security insurance scheme, a specified period of occupational activity or of employment with one or more employers (indicating whether periods of unemployment are counted as working time for this purpose) and/or a specified salary level. Denmark [With regards to Article 8 - The right of employed women to protection; Paragraph 1 - Maternity leave]. As no change had occurred in Denmark during the reference period with regard to maternity leave, the Committee was obliged to reiterate its negative conclusion, owing to the entirely optional nature of this leave and the corresponding lack of a minimum requirement of six weeks' post-natal leave. The Committee took note of the Government's intention to amend Danish legislation in order to make it conform to the European Community Directive of 19 October 1992, which concerns, inter alia, maternity leave and it expressed the hope that the Government, when amending the legislation. would ensure that Danish legislation was brought into line also with all of the undertakings deriving from Article 8 para. I of the Charter as interpreted by the Committee (Conclusions VIII, page 123). As far as maternity benefits were concerned, the Committee noted from the report's reply to the question put in its previous conclusion (Conclusions XII-1, page 147), that they were no longer equal to 90% of pay, but that under Act No. 852 of 20 December 1989, Daily Cash Benefit (Sickness or Maternity), they could not exceed a maximum weekly amount laid down by the Act (DKr 2,397 - or DKr 10,347 a month - Article 9(2)), divided by the number of hours normally worked per week and that this amount was adjusted annually. Having noted under Article 4 para. 1 that, in 1990, the average monthly wage of women working in the private sector was equal to DKr 15,030, the Committee took note of the fact that the legal maximum amount of benefits represented only 69% of this average wage. The Committee also took note of the fact that any supplements (paid by employers or out of public funds) to offset the difference between maternity benefits and previous wages were governed by collective agreements. It wished to know if and how collective agreements made provision for this and whether all female wage-earners received such supplements. Pending receipt of this information, the Committee deferred its conclusion as regards the questions of maternity benefits.
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