Current location:Culture Channel news portal > health
Push for More Parental Care Leave Gathers Pace
Culture Channel news portal2024-05-08 02:19:48【health】8People have gathered around
IntroductionContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom
- Home
- News
- People
- In-depth
- ACWF
Push for More Parental Care Leave Gathers Pace
ByWang Xiaoyu March 13, 2024Zhang 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.
(Source: China Daily)
32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.
Comments
Magazines
Projects
- 2023 Women Science and Technology Innovation Pioneer...
Photos
- People Enjoy Blooming Tulips in Jinan, East...
- Flowers Bloom Across China in Spring
Special Coverage
Address of this article:http://tromelinisland.brittasbay.org/html-16e199943.html
Very good!(3219)
Related articles
- World Insights: Experts Say Xi Offers Significant Guidance for China
- Chinese, Palestinian Presidents Hold Talks
- Red sea crisis highlights vital role of China
- Xiplomacy: Chinese President Corresponds with Belgian Zookeeper over Pandas, Friendship
- Chinese President Receives Credentials of 70 Ambassadors
- Why Did President Xi Visit This Forest Farm?
- China's tourism booms during Qingming Festival holidays
- Xi Presents Order to Promote Military Officers to Rank of General
- Water projects to help bolster economy
- EHang receives production certificate for self
Popular articles
Recommended
Xi Story: A Farmland Visitor and the Vision for China's Food Security
China unifies medicine catalog covered by medical insurance
Qiaopi, Letters of Love from Overseas Chinese
Xi Encourages Friendly Personage to Push for Stronger China
The 22nd China International Environmental Protection Exhibition was held in Beijing
Xi, Ramaphosa Hold Phone Talks over Bilateral Ties, Ukraine Crisis
Xinhua Headlines
Xi Visits Wuliangsu Lake in China's Inner Mongolia
Links
- Protests erupt in Mumbai, India
- Hongqimen bridge under construction in Guangdong
- China boosts COVID
- Xinhua Headlines: Russia, Ukraine to meet at Ukrainian
- Sanyuesan: Folk art feasts across China
- Nyingchi apples' first export to Nepal
- Xi Sends Congratulatory Letter to Forum on Civilization and Sinology
- People visit exhibitions at Times Art Museum in Beijing
- Winter Paralympic torch relay held in Beijing's Olympic Forest Park
- CPC Leadership Reviews Guidelines on Policies Supporting Construction of Xiong'an