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.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS