Butt spot in jeopardy
Women who work in education and want to express breast milk suffer from a lack of time and space. "You just have to do it with it."
Image: Floor Fortunati
“I find it complicated to have to arrange everything related to expressing,” says Maike Douglas-Westland, a teacher at a primary school in Utrecht. “My colleague was responsible for two classes and I had to find a place myself each time. That meant that I had already stopped breastfeeding when my child was four months old. I regret that afterwards. I also took parental leave with my second child. ”
Maike has two children between the ages of four and one. She works at a primary school and is one of the many teachers who run into the unruly practice of pumping law. During her maternity leave, Maike had indicated that she would like to make use of the option to pump. She consulted with her employer, but encountered a lot of resistance. There was a lack of space and capacity.
The only solution was to pump when my colleague from the parallel group went outside
“We worked with a continuous schedule, which meant that I didn't finish until two in the afternoon and had a break, which was too late for me. The only solution was to pump when my colleague from the parallel group went outside. Then I had fifteen minutes, but that effectively left ten minutes to pump. Not really soothing and beneficial. ”
Willingness
In many elementary schools, workers struggle with it breast pump *The right to 'feed a breast child, or the right to pump' is regulated in the Working Hours Act. This states that you may interrupt labor for breastfeeding or pumping during the first nine months after giving birth. This is allowed as often and as long as necessary, but in total no longer than one fourth of your working day. You can make agreements with your employer about when and for how long you interrupt work. The pumping or feeding time is paid for. . They depend on the willingness of colleagues: a teacher keeps an eye on two classes, an internal supervisor jumps in or a trainee is put on the square guard. Many women find it difficult to ask this of their colleagues.
Miss Marleen Strik-van Tilburg expresses expression in the craft room of OBS de Wijde Wereld, Amersfoort. She does not appear in the story. Image: Floor Fortunati
From research of Parents of Now in January of last year, it turned out that only 33 percent of the XNUMX women surveyed had access to a breast pump that met the requirements. For example, the space must be able to be closed from the inside, be hygienic, offer sufficient privacy, be provided with a bed or couch, there must be sufficient fresh air and the place must be quiet and secluded.
I sometimes pump in the warehouse, there are no windows and no power outlet
However, many employees express themselves in an office where there are no curtains on the windows or sit on the stretcher of the first aid room hoping there will be no accident in between.
Maike had to find a space herself at her school, which could be somewhere else every time. “I think that's the worst, all those boxes. I sometimes express in the room where the intern supervisor is or in the warehouse. This is a narrow space full of shelving units where booklets and working materials such as pencils are stored. There are no windows and no power socket. ”
She started talking again. “My employer indicated that he did not think this was desirable, but there is no other solution. You just have to make do with it. It is seen as my problem. ”
Support
Joep Gakes, employee of the information and advice center of the AOb, has little to do with pumping problems. “I think we only get two questions about this every quarter. These mainly concern what an employee is entitled to. We refer to the legislation and regulations, but that is the end of it. ”
A striking result given the many practical examples of women who encounter this. Gakes: “An employee who is a member of the AOb can of course ask for support if she cannot reach an agreement with her employer. We can then see together what is or is not feasible, then mediation and, if necessary, litigation. That has never happened until now. You must of course ask yourself whether you want to take that path, because sometimes your employment relationship is at stake. I think that a lot of employees choose their money. ”
Spicy
Not all schools leave the responsibility for expressing entirely with the employee. Derk Reijneker, head of the public high school De Amersfoortse Berg believes it is part of his task to keep an eye on the well-being of his employees. “Having a child is tough enough, let's arrange this as well as possible,” he says. “At the moment, the standard for us is that an intermediate hour is scheduled and the employee receives task hours in return. That way, you don't have to sacrifice private time because your work isn't done yet. Furthermore, everything is done in consultation, usually the employee knows best what is and is not desirable. "
You really have to stand behind it yourself and stand on your stripes
Yet Reijneker also runs into the limited space within the school. “The building is as it is, there are several consultation rooms and a care area, but no one is responsible for that. There too you sometimes run into practical problems that such a space is suddenly double booked. ”
Practice is unruly and structures with intermediate hours are more difficult to realize in primary education. Ms. Maike: “You really have to go after it yourself and stand your ground. I hope things will be better organized in the future. ”
Are you a member of the AOb and if you have any questions about pumping during working hours, please contact us.
This article was published in the Education Magazine of January 2019. Every month the Education Magazine? Become member of the AOb!
