Current location:Horizon Herald news portal > world
Push for more parental care leave gathers pace
Horizon Herald news portal2024-05-22 08:58:48【world】9People have gathered around
IntroductionBy Wang Xiaoyu (China Daily) 15:56, March 13, 2024Zhang Da found his parents were less involved in f
Zhang Da found his parents were less involved in familial and social gatherings and talked slowly when he returned home from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, to spend the Spring Festival holiday with them in mid-January.
"It just hit me that my parents were getting old, and I felt a stronger sense of responsibility and an intense feeling that I needed to accompany them more often," the 28-year-old said. "My father also fell sick last year and now needs me to take care of him."
However, like a number of regions in China, Shaanxi only grants paid parental care leave to employees from one-child families. "I have siblings so my employer would not easily allow me to take time off work," he said.
The dilemma confronting Zhang is starting to receive increasing attention from authorities as China strives to meet the demand for senior care in a rapidly aging society.
China had about 297 million people aged 60 and older — 21.1 percent of its population — by the end of last year. The elderly population is forecast to reach 400 million, and exceed 30 percent of the total, by around 2035, according to official estimates.
In response to a netizen's online suggestion, the health commission in Zhejiang province said late last month that when it revises local population and family planning regulations it will consider extending parental care leave to workers who are not the only child in their families.
The online suggestion said that being filial to parents and accompanying them is a basic moral principle and policies should not differ on the basis of the number of children in a family.
The provincial health commission acknowledged the necessity of expanding eligibility for such leave.
"We also encourage employers to offer care leave for workers whose elderly parents are hospitalized or cannot live by themselves due to illness," it said.
In reply to a similar online request, the civil affairs bureau in Beijing said in late January that setting up parental care leave is imperative.
"With the deepening aging trend in the city, elderly care has become a difficult problem for all and should be emphasized and dealt with proactively," it said.
"Granting parental care leave is one active measure to tackle the aging trend. Currently, there is no national law or regulation related to it but we see it as an imperative task based on practical demands."
Nationwide, several regions allow paid parental leave for workers with siblings.
In Tianjin, people from a one-child family are entitled to 20 days of paid parental care leave a year and those who are not an only child are given 10 days.
The province of Guizhou grants seven days' paid leave for employees with siblings, compared with 15 days for those who are the sole child.
One concern of local authorities is that such leave has an impact on labor costs.
Health authorities in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region said previously that the establishment of any paid leave should take into consideration the rights of workers and the labor costs of employers.
Feng Wenmeng, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council, told People's Daily that honors could be bestowed on businesses that provide parental care leave.
Local governments could also consider giving tax deductions to employers who implement parental care leave, he said.
Address of this article:http://northernmarianaislands.antjekoch.com/content-81d499896.html
Very good!(4357)
Related articles
- Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Portugal into record sixth European Championship
- China Beats Japan in FIVB Women's Nations League
- Int'l Cultural Industries Fair Opens in Shenzhen
- Village Basketball Competition Kicks off in SW China's Guizhou
- Hundreds of hostages, mostly women and children, are rescued from Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria
- China Continues Promoting Employment Around Graduation Season
- Chinese Courts Empowered to Better Support Family Education, Protect Minors
- Students Enjoy Activities During Summer Vacation in China
- Syrian first lady Asma Assad diagnosed with leukemia, president's office says
- Organs Safeguard Campus Security
Popular articles
Recommended
Singapore Airlines: 1 dead, others injured after London
China's Top Procuratorate Promotes Law's Implementation
China Continues to Raise Basic Pension Payments for Retirees
Embroidery Industry Provides Jobs for Local Women of Miao Ethnic Group in Yunnan County
New York's high court upholds requiring insurance to cover medically necessary abortions
Communist Youth League of China Membership Reaches 73.58 Mln
Project Launched to Encourage Participation of Children in Family Labor
China to Provide Trainee Jobs for College Graduates, Young People
Links
- Jaguars pick up fifth
- 'The Tortured Poets Department' gets largest streaming week ever
- Sandra Bullock's teen son Louis towers over her during rare outing in West Hollywood
- How to watch the Kentucky Derby
- Map reveals where headless torso and further human remains have been found by locals in Salford
- Travis Kelce names Taylor Swift his 'significant other' at the Mahomes' charity gala in Las Vegas
- IMF approves immediate release of final $1.1 billion tranche of $3 billion bailout to Pakistan
- Iconic arch used as Iditarod finish line collapses in Alaska
- Seattle Kraken fire coach Dave Hakstol after leading the franchise for its first 3 seasons
- A retired Roman Catholic bishop who tried to mediate between cartels in Mexico has been kidnapped