SHENZHEN, Guangdong - In an effort to promote gender equality, city legislators have reviewed a draft regulation that would grant 10 days of parental leave a year to both parents of a child younger than age 3.

The draft was sent for a second review at the 12th meeting of the fifth standing committee of the Shenzhen People's Congress on Sunday.

Unlike a previous version reviewed in October, the second draft would extend the leave from five to 10 days. "This is the first attempt to legalize both parents' right to parental leave in the country," said Liu Shuguang, deputy head of the Committee for Internal and Judicial Affairs of Shenzhen People's Congress Standing Committee.

"Some provinces have local legislation for paternity leave, but none yet have parental leave," he added.

The draft suggests that employers decide the salaries during the employees' leave according to the labor regulations, but Liu said, since there is no law at the State level in this area yet, if the regulation got passed in Shenzhen, the salaries during the leave need negotiated between the employers and employees.

Many local parents are applauding the draft regulation.

Li Huaguang, the father of a 1-year-old daughter who works at a State-owned property management company, said: "With the leave, I can have more time with my child - I spend too little time with her. Every day after I get home from work, I have only about an hour to play with her, and then she has to go to bed; and I often have to work on one or two weekends in a month."

"I heard that it's not good for children's development if parents spend little time with them, especially the development of their personality," he said.

Yu Shaoyang, a worker at a toy factory in Bao'an district whose husband also works in Shenzhen, said they had to leave their 19-month-old daughter with the grandmother in Central China's Hubei province.

"I would like to have the leave and spend more time with my child; I think I will take the leave, even if it's not paid," she said.

However, from an employer's perspective, concerns over the feasibility of the draft measure remain.

A human resources department head with a media group in Shenzhen who gave her name as Liu, said she believed the regulation will increase businesses' costs, "especially in companies where a large percentage of the employees are women," she said.

Other widely discussed articles in this draft regulation include "flexible retirement age". Currently the retirement age in China is 55 for women, 60 for men.

According to Liu, many women, especially white-collar workers, such as doctors, believe people in their 50s are still fit for work and thus they want to postpone retirement.

The regulation suggests female workers who are able to and want to continue working after retirement age can negotiate with the employer and continue working until the retirement age of men.

Liu said the regulation was in this year's city legislation plan, and it will be delivered for a third review in the coming year before it can be approved.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/27/2011 page5)