A flexible parental leave trial is to begin today at 64 private enterprises and government agencies to encourage more Taiwanese to start families, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
Under the pilot program, participating employers must allow workers parental leave in a maximum of three blocks of five to seven days, the ministry said in guidelines for the program.
Notices for the launch have been given to the participants, which volunteered to be part of the program, it said, adding that it is expected to conclude at the end of this year.
Photo courtesy of the Childcare Policy Alliance
Participating organizations can increase the flexibility of their leave policies, including permitting employees to take single days of leave any number of times, it said.
Businesses and agencies can optionally require employees to submit written notice at least five days before taking parental leave, the ministry said, adding that shorter notice periods are allowed.
Employers are exempt from employee social security payments for the duration of the trial program and participation counts toward receiving labor-friendly designation, which qualifies corporations for government perks, it said.
Eight government agencies and 56 private enterprises volunteered for the trial, Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said, adding that others that want to join must apply before the end of this month.
Separately yesterday, a coalition of labor and parent groups called for childcare and parental leave reform to bolster female workforce participation and population growth.
Multiple studies conducted in South Korea indicate that better work conditions and family life for married women are key for higher birthrates, Childcare Policy Alliance spokeswoman Huang Chiao-ling (黃喬鈴) told a news conference in Taipei ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday.
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel’s reforms in public childcare and parental leave were crucial to that country’s successful bid to get out of its demographic and labor supply doldrums, alliance convenor Liu Yu-shiu (劉毓秀) said.
National Educator and Teacher Union president Chen Hui-ching (陳惠菁) said that 70 percent of the nation’s childcare industry is privatized and the government must create more public care providers for policy changes to be meaningful.
Taiwan Labor Front deputy secretary-general Yang Hsu-wei (楊書瑋) said that international labor rights conventions stipulate that family responsibilities should not be a reason for people to quit their jobs.
Parental leave policies and homecare resources should be provided to working families if the nation is to increase female participation in the workforce, Yang added.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS