Turcotte G
Research Group on the Social Aspects of Prevention (GRASP), Université de Montréal.
Women Health. 1992;18(3):79-95. doi: 10.1300/J013v18n03_06.
In 1981, the Québec government passed a law providing "precautionary leave" or reassignment to other jobs for pregnant workers exposed to a risk for their health or that of their fetus. This measure was much more popular than expected, with about 30% of pregnant workers taking leave in 1987. Uncertainty about what constitutes a risk for pregnancy, conflicts between views of pregnancy as a social or private act, and differing ideas on employers' responsibility for protection of pregnant workers have combined with worries about cost to stimulate debate on this law. Since 1986, there has been pressure on the government to restrict access to precautionary leave. This article describes research designed to answer some of the questions raised during the debate. Data banks of the Health and Safety Commission and responses of 2500 women workers were examined to characterize the jobs of women who did and those who did not take leave. Leave was usually taken by those who worked in sectors traditionally associated with risks, and women who applied for precautionary leave more often reported their working conditions to be difficult. Women taking leave accorded more importance to their maternal and domestic roles, but equal value to their roles in the workplace. The article concludes that the popularity of the measure is not due to laziness or lack of responsibility on the part of women workers, but to poor conditions in women's traditional jobs. It is suggested that more emphasis be placed on improving conditions rather than on early leave from work.
1981年，魁北克省政府通过了一项法律，为接触对自身健康或胎儿健康有风险的怀孕工人提供“预防性休假”或调至其他工作岗位。这项措施比预期更受欢迎，1987年约有30%的怀孕工人休假。关于什么构成怀孕风险的不确定性、将怀孕视为社会行为还是私人行为的观点冲突、以及关于雇主保护怀孕工人责任的不同看法，再加上对成本的担忧，引发了对该法律的辩论。自1986年以来，政府面临着限制预防性休假的压力。本文描述了旨在回答辩论中提出的一些问题的研究。研究审查了健康与安全委员会的数据库以及2500名女工的回复，以描述休假女工和未休假女工的工作特征。通常是那些在传统上与风险相关行业工作的人休假，申请预防性休假的女性更常报告她们的工作条件困难。休假的女性更重视她们的母亲和家庭角色，但对她们在工作场所的角色也同样重视。文章得出结论，这项措施受欢迎并非是因为女工懒惰或缺乏责任感，而是因为女性传统工作中的恶劣条件。建议更多地强调改善工作条件，而不是提前离岗。
