The Executive Yuan approved a draft of an amendment to the Employment Insurance Act (就業保險法), paving the way for workers to apply for unpaid parental leave subsidized for up to six months, Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) Chairwoman Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄) said yesterday.
The draft will be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for approval in its next session. If approved, the new regulation is expected to take effect in the first half of next year, Wang said.
“We are trying to seek the support of legislators,” she said at a press conference.
BENEFITS
Under the amendment, fathers and mothers on parental leave would each be entitled to a subsidy equal to 60 percent of their average insured monthly salary, for up to six months.
“This represents progress in reducing discrimination against working women, as both father and mother share the responsibility of raising children,” Wang said.
To be eligible for the subsidy, applicants must have been covered by employment insurance for at least one year and their children must be under three years of age.
FUNDING
Wang said funding for the new subsidy, estimated at NT$8.1 billion (US$253 million), would come from the employment insurance fund.
Describing the policy as an incentive for men to take responsibility for raising their children, Tseng Chao-yuan (曾昭媛), secretary-general of the Awakening Foundation, expressed support for the policy, but suggested that the subsidy payments should be extended to two years to correspond with the period of parental leave permitted by law.
One of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign promises was to offer employees two-year parental leave retaining 60 percent of their salaries.
IMPACT ON EMPLOYERS
Wang said the CLA would evaluate the impact of the policy on employers and parents before deciding whether the parental leave subsidy should be extended from six months to two years.
The draft amendment also extends to nine months the period over which jobless middle-aged and senior people can claim unemployment benefits, Wang said. Currently people in this category can claim 60 percent of their average insured monthly salary for up to six months.
Also, under the new proposal, unemployed people would be entitled to 80 percent instead of the current maximum of 60 percent of their salary, if they have to raise minor or disabled children and the spouse has no income, Wang said.
About 5.45 million workers covered by employment insurance in Taiwan would benefit from the above measures, the CLA said.
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