The government plans to amend laws to grant each parent an additional month of parental leave if both apply for the full allowed six months of leave, to encourage more equal sharing of childcare responsibilities, the Cabinet said yesterday.
Under current regulations, parents can take up to two years of parental leave before a child turns three.
Those covered by employment insurance are eligible for parental leave allowances of up to six months per child, receiving 60 percent of their insured salary plus an additional 20 percent subsidized by the government.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying that the government already eased parental leave rules starting on Jan. 1, allowing it to be taken by the day rather than only by the month.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) in March said that the ministry was discussing raising the eligible child age for parental leave benefits to six.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Ngalim Tiunn (張雅琳) and Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇), along with Taiwan Labour Front secretary-general Yang Shu-wei (楊書瑋) and Childcare Policy Alliance convener Wang Chao-ching (王兆慶), yesterday held a news conference in Taipei calling for broader childcare support measures.
The group advocated for more flexible parental leave arrangements, childcare leave and flexible working hours, as well as extending parental leave eligibility to parents with children aged 12 years and younger.
They also called for parents to be allowed to receive childcare and daycare service allowances simultaneously.
The current system oversimplifies childcare by forcing families to choose between caring for children themselves or relying on daycare services, making the two allowances mutually exclusive, Ngalim Tiunn said.
In reality, parents whose children attend daycare still need to provide care at night, on holidays, during illness or when classes are suspended, she added.
Childcare allowances support basic caregiving needs, while daycare service allowances help families access external care services, meaning the two serve different purposes, she said.
Flexible leave arrangements and working hours remain important even after children begin school, as parents still face pressure from school pick-ups, holidays, weekends and unexpected class suspensions, she said.
Childcare pressures do not end once children reach age six, and parents need clearer support mechanisms to deal with emergencies or unexpected situations, Chen said.
The proportion of men applying for parental leave has increased noticeably since rules were relaxed, showing that greater flexibility and incentives could help couples share childcare responsibilities more evenly, Yang added.
Wang cited international research as showing that long working hours contribute to low birthrates, adding that flexible working arrangements and extending parental leave eligibility would not only support families, but also encourage businesses and workplaces to better address caregiving responsibilities.
Men accounted for 26.02 percent of parental leave allowance applications last year, up from 16.49 percent in 2009, Ministry of Labor data showed.
Meanwhile, President William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday outlined a series of government policies aimed at reducing the burden of raising children, including a flat maternity subsidy of NT$100,000 per newborn and allowing parental leave to be taken by the day.
Speaking at a Democratic Progressive Party Central Standing Committee meeting, Lai said that the government this year launched an expanded maternity subsidy program, guaranteeing a payout of NT$100,000 per newborn, with proportional increases for twins or multiple births.
Women who are not covered by social insurance programs, as well as foreign spouses, are also eligible to receive the NT$100,000 subsidy, he added.
In addition, a new system to strengthen corporate childcare support took effect on Friday last week, he said.
The program aims to help businesses establish more comprehensive childcare support systems so that parents can better balance their work and family lives, he added.
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