Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness stated yesterday.

And a "huge'' part of that problem, he conceded, was the unfair treatment of pregnant women in the workplace.

Mr. Edness was responding to a claim made during last Thursday's Annual Human Rights Day Public Forum which focused on women's rights in the 1990s.

"The largest complaint received by the Human Rights Commission is that of pregnancy discrimination,'' Business and Professional Women's Association president Ms Valerie Robinson-James told the more than 200 men and women who attended.

She also hit out at the fact that there was currently no legislation in Bermuda dealing with maternity leave for women.

Mr. Edness acknowledged there were large companies on the Island which did have policies in place to accommodate pregnant women.

However, he said: "Many employers simply let women go if they get pregnant.

And they don't give them their jobs back (when they have their babies).'' Ms Robinson-James agreed: "It is still the practice of some employers to dismiss women from their jobs if they become pregnant, rather than offer them maternity leave with or without pay. This is sad, but true.

"The Human Rights Act as it stands now only requires a company to re-employ a woman after maternity leave, but it does not necessarily require that the woman be re-instated in the same job or at the same level of seniority.

"Though specific clauses in the Act could conditionally protect women who are discharged, there is nothing to assure women a period of time off with pay while recovering from childbirth.'' She said most companies practised discrimination in a subtle manner, such as department re-organisation, re-writing job descriptions, or sudden changes in job performance expectations.

Mr. Edness said the issue of women's rights had long been a concern of his.

"If we treat the moms badly then we are treating the children badly too.'' He said there were efforts under way at the Community Affairs Ministry to put in place laws dealing with maternity leave.

Community Affairs Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons said yesterday that the issue was one of many being looked at with a view to including in a second batch of amendments to the Human Rights Act. Equal rights for people with AIDS was high on the list, he said.

Mr. Gibbons said rights for pregnant women were not included in the just-passed amendments to the Human Rights Act because there had been no direct pressure from the public on the issue.