Parents should be able to take leave by the day or by the hour to take care of their children, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said yesterday, as he and other lawmakers reintroduced a bill to instate more flexible parental leave.
Taiwan’s birthrate has reached a new low, meaning the labor shortage would continue to worsen, Childcare Policy Alliance convener Liu Yu-shiu (劉毓秀) told a news conference in Taipei.
However, 49 percent of working-age women are not in the workforce, as many stay at home to take care of children, she said.
Photo: CNA
The alliance in 2022 proposed an amendment to create a new kind of parental leave, which must now be reintroduced to the legislature as it has begun a new session.
Single women work at a higher rate than their male counterparts, but workforce participation drops off after they get married, Hung said, adding that women also find it difficult to return to work after spending time away.
Parental leave is very inflexible, forcing many caregivers out of the workforce anyway, he said.
Current rules under the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法) provide for parental leave of up to two years, which must be taken before a child is three years old. Each parent can apply twice for parental leave, for a minimum period of 30 days.
Hung said he and his colleagues have reintroduced the bill, and called on government agencies to take it seriously.
The bill drafted by the alliance has four main elements: parents would be able to use parental leave until their child is eight years old; parents could apply for leave by the day or by the hour; parental leave and unpaid maternity or paternity leave should be considered together, with subsidies offered for six months; and parental leave should be scheduled 10 days in advance, with an option to apply the day before in emergencies.
“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
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
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS