Parents should be able to take leave by the day or by the hour to take care of their children, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said yesterday, as he and other lawmakers reintroduced a bill to instate more flexible parental leave.
Taiwan’s birthrate has reached a new low, meaning the labor shortage would continue to worsen, Childcare Policy Alliance convener Liu Yu-shiu (劉毓秀) told a news conference in Taipei.
However, 49 percent of working-age women are not in the workforce, as many stay at home to take care of children, she said.
Photo: CNA
The alliance in 2022 proposed an amendment to create a new kind of parental leave, which must now be reintroduced to the legislature as it has begun a new session.
Single women work at a higher rate than their male counterparts, but workforce participation drops off after they get married, Hung said, adding that women also find it difficult to return to work after spending time away.
Parental leave is very inflexible, forcing many caregivers out of the workforce anyway, he said.
Current rules under the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法) provide for parental leave of up to two years, which must be taken before a child is three years old. Each parent can apply twice for parental leave, for a minimum period of 30 days.
Hung said he and his colleagues have reintroduced the bill, and called on government agencies to take it seriously.
The bill drafted by the alliance has four main elements: parents would be able to use parental leave until their child is eight years old; parents could apply for leave by the day or by the hour; parental leave and unpaid maternity or paternity leave should be considered together, with subsidies offered for six months; and parental leave should be scheduled 10 days in advance, with an option to apply the day before in emergencies.
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