Mothers returning to work in the NSW public service have won the right to breastfeed at work or express milk in a private comfortable space.
More than 116,000 women in the state public service are of childbearing age and are potential beneficiaries.
Under a variation of the industrial award for NSW public servants, women will get 60 minutes a day in addition to meal breaks to breastfeed or express milk, and access to a suitable space with comfortable seating. They will also have access to a refrigerator, where practicable, to store the milk.
Maria Cirillo, a senior industrial officer with the Public Service Association, said the new right should help allay concerns of breastfeeding mothers about returning to work.
''In the past, women have gone to their cars to express milk or gone to the toilet,'' she said.
Some women had been harassed for storing breast milk in the fridge, interrupted when expressing milk, and forced to give up breastfeeding due to lack of support at work.
The breakthrough came last week after negotiations between the association and the NSW Director of Public Employment. It takes effect immediately.
Ms Cirillo said women had a lot to negotiate when returning to work and had found it difficult to have a conversation about breastfeeding.
Previously the public service has had an ''aspirational'' policy to give women time to express milk, but this was generally not put into practice and was not a right, Ms Cirillo said.
''This is not about being pro-breastfeeding,'' she said. ''It's just about helping those women who are breastfeeding continue to do so when they return to work.''
She said teachers and nurses would have to apply to have their awards varied to be eligible for the same conditions.
