Activists Call for Flexible Parental Leave in Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

Labor and women's rights activists say frequent daycare closures due to illness put parents, especially mothers, in a bind. They say it's time for a system of flexible parental leave that parents can take in day-long chunks to solve unexpected family crises without pressure from work.

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00:00Getting a spot in one of Taiwan's daycare centers is hard enough, but for many parents

00:04that's just the start of the challenge.

00:06Outbreaks of stomach bugs and other illnesses shut down the average daycare in a place like

00:10Taipei for up to a month a year.

00:13And if grandparents aren't in the picture, that can mean having to take the time off

00:16of work that most companies just won't allow.

00:19As Mother's Day approaches, labor activists say it's time for the government to take

00:22a hard look at this problem.

00:24Zhang Lihuan knows all about the toll unexpected closures due to illness can take on working

00:29families.

00:30Her grandchild's daycare closed three times last year.

00:33They gave up their spot, and the mother had to take seven months of parental leave to fill

00:37in.

00:38A slew of data these activists have collected shows that different cities have different

00:54standards, and that daycares in some regions close less often than in others.

00:58Still, sudden closures are a nationwide reality.

01:01Though the health ministry announced last month plans to cut down the number of closures due

01:06to sickness, parents could still be in a bind.

01:09Daycares will have the right to tell parents to take sick kids home.

01:12Labor unions say this shows the time off system needs reform.

01:16As for comment, the labor ministry told Taiwan

01:25Taiwan Plus that, one, the law already guarantees parental leave, family care leave, and reduced or

01:40adjusted working hours.

01:42Two, that the ministry has trialed flexible parental leave and found it helped men get more involved

01:57in childcare.

01:58And three, that it's reviewing and planning with a holistic mindset and will keep working to make the

02:03workplace more friendly.

02:05This doesn't seem to be what activists want to hear, though.

02:08President Lai Qingde says that while both parents can get up to two years of parental leave, the

02:12government needs to strengthen childcare subsidies and assistance, and improve the quality of childcare.

02:17Still, nearly a year after his inauguration, people here are calling on the president to keep a promise to put

02:22what his campaign called Flexible Parental Leave into place.

02:27And they say this should be separate from the sorts of leave workers are entitled to for rest.

02:31They say it's not just workers' rights at stake, but gender equality.

02:35Actually, it's very clear that if we don't have money today, it's always the women who are asking.

02:41If we don't have money today, it's always the women who are asking.

02:42If we don't have money today, it's always the women who are asking.

02:46Taiwan already has one of the world's lowest fertility rates.

02:52And these activists say financial reasons aren't the only reason why.

02:56They say if the government's serious about getting more people to have children, it's

03:00time for them to make sure working people have the time off they need to raise a family.

03:04And they want the government to keep the promises it's already made.

03:07Klein Wang and John Van Trieste in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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