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.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS