Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday defended the government’s plan to grant women one-year pregnancy leave, saying the measure was a symbol of progress for a nation.
Granting pregnant women unpaid leave to help them prevent miscarriage is an example of “social justice,” Wu said in response to media reports that quoted business representatives as saying the policy would deal a blow to their operations.
Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) said at an event on Saturday marking the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day that female workers could start taking unpaid pregnancy leave for a maximum of one year by June.
Wang said the council came up with the policy because pregnant women are not allowed by current law to take as many days off as they need to prevent miscarriage.
If the government launches the program, women that want to apply for pregnancy leave would have to present a doctor’s note verifying they need the time off, she said.
Media reported that Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄), chairman of the Chinese National Federation of Industries, had expressed concern that women’s employment prospects might be affected by the proposed policy, while women’s groups questioned whether the government would be able to implement it.
Legislators across party lines, on the other hand, applauded the government for proposing the policy. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said it would ensure that pregnant women do not have to choose between work and children.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) agreed, but expressed concern that the policy would prompt some businesses to avoid hiring women.
In related news, the results of a recent survey conducted by the Taipei City government showed yesterday that most Taipei-based companies are not interested in setting up breastfeeding rooms for the convenience of female employees.
Only 3.9 percent of companies in Taipei City had breastfeeding rooms on their premises last year, the Taipei City Department of Labor found.
The survey, conducted by the department’s Labor Standards Inspection Office, found that a “lack of space” was the main reason, as indicated by 39.3 percent of respondents.
Nearly 28 percent of the 608 companies surveyed said it was not necessary for them to have such a space because their employees were not new or expectant mothers.
However, 10.3 percent of respondents said there was no law requiring them to set up breastfeeding rooms and their female employees did not consider it necessary. Some companies said their employees were either past childbearing age or were predominantly male, the survey found.
The Taipei City government passed regulations encouraging breastfeeding rooms in public buildings and allowing women to breastfeed in public spaces. The regulation is to take effect on April 1.
The city government has also urged all companies in Taipei to install breastfeeding rooms for better treatment of nursing mothers, as stipulated in the statute governing gender equality in the workplace.
The Cabinet in January approved regulations that would allow women to breastfeed in public spaces, which was seen as a step toward better protection of women’s rights.
The Cabinet regulations stipulate that women should not be banned, sent away, disturbed or asked to move if they are breastfeeding their babies in a public area.
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