Women who have had a stillborn baby are now eligible for maternity benefits from the nation’s labor insurance program, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Labor, granting official approval to what used to be legally ambivalent area in the Labor Insurance Act (勞工保險條例).
The act previously only stipulated maternity benefits for healthy births and premature deliveries, with new mothers eligible to receive the equivalent of two months’ salary, based on their average monthly salaries over the previous six months.
New regulations provide women who have suffered stillbirths or miscarriages with the same maternity benefits, on the condition that the applicant is more than 20 weeks into the pregnancy and provides proper certification.
Following meetings with medical experts late last month, ministry officials decided on a broad definition that includes stillbirths or miscarriages more than 20 weeks into pregnancy as cases of childbirth. However, miscarriages, defined as the natural death of a fetus within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, would not be covered.
Regulations on maternity benefits for different insurance programs, including those that provide coverage for civil servants, military personnel and unemployed people, have been revised accordingly, ministry officials said.
Like all instances of childbirth, new mothers who have given birth to stillborn children are also entitled to eight weeks of paid maternity leave from their employers.
According to a report from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2,468 cases of stillbirth occurred in Taiwan during 2012, accounting for roughly 1 percent of deliveries in total.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it