The legislature passed an amendment to the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法) yesterday to make paternity leave longer when spouses are in labor, grant five paid days off for pregnant employees to undergo antenatal examinations and clarify that half-pay is guaranteed for menstrual leave.
Revisions have been made to seven articles of the existing act, which stipulates that while employees’ spouses are in labor, their employers must grant them three paid days off as paternity leave, but which has no regulations on working pregnant women’s welfare concerning pre-birth examinations.
The newly passed amendments grant five more birth-related paid days off to pregnant employees for prenatal checkups, an increase from the existing maternity leave granted before and after childbirth for a combined period of eight weeks.
Also granted by the new law is an extension of paternity leave for employees with spouses in labor to five days.
“With paternity leave extended to five days that could be combined with two weekends, [employees with spouses in labor] can now have a total of nine days to stay with their spouses and take care of the baby,” said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏), convener of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.
The Ministry of Labor has estimated that about 174,000 employees will benefit from the change every year and that employers need to shoulder an extra annual expenditure of NT$470 million (US$15.2 million).
About 140,000 pregnant employees will benefit from the days off for pre-birth examinations annually, costing employers about NT$790 million, the ministry said.
The existing act allowed one day of menstrual leave each month and if the cumulative menstrual leave did not exceed three days in a year they were not to be counted toward days off for sick leave and be entitled to half-pay, while the amendment makes the three-day non-sick-leave menstrual leave half-paid, rather than unpaid.
Employees now may also apply for unpaid parental leave before any of their children reach the age of three years old after being employed for six months, instead of one year under the existing law.
Adoptive parents are now also entitled to non-pay parental leave if the adoptive children are under three years of age, Wang said.
“Other improvements include the requirement for employers [hiring more than 250 employees] to set up not only child-care facilities [pursuant to the current regulations], but also lactation rooms and the strengthening of penalties for gender discrimination,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) said.
Penalties related to gender discrimination have also been raised from between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000 (US$3,225 and US$16,126) to between NT$300,000 and NT$1.5 million.
However, Yu later expressed concern about implementing the measures, saying that if employers are not well supervised by the government the measures would be toothless.
“I want to remind President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration that the previous amendments passed on May 30 included my proposal to make public the company names and the names of the person in charge of companies that violate the act,” Yu wrote on Facebook.
“The transparency and the subsequently formed social pressure would make employers take their responsibilities for a gender-friendly workplace more seriously,” she wrote.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
RSS