Belarus, Kazakhstan among world's leaders in maternity leave length

Belarus and other post-Soviet countries are among record-breakers in the duration of the paid maternity leave, a new report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) says, BelTA informs with reference to the UN News Center.

The report provides statistics on the duration of maternity leave in various countries. The post Soviet countries are among the world's leaders in the matter. For instance, the paid maternity leave makes up 140 days in Armenia, Russia and Tajikistan and 126 days in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

The majority of women in the world have no adequate guarantees on social protection for maternity - the right for a paid maternity leave. Thus, according to the report, only 36% of the working women have the right for a paid maternity leave.

The ILO draws attention to the negative consequences of the measures to toughen the tax and budget policy in Europe for women and children. The poverty level among children grew in 18 out of 28 countries of the European Union from 2008 to 2013, BelTA reports.