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SCMP Reporter

FOR Mei, a worker at a local transport company, having a baby meant five years of financial planning and saving before she became pregnant. Otherwise, the 29-year-old knew that when the time came to live on her 10 weeks' maternity leave pay (MLP), the new family would be struggling to make ends meet.

  Though the company she works for has, on average, one pregnant worker every two years, it was only willing to pay her the minimum maternity leave pay required by law - two-thirds of her monthly salary.

  In Mei's case, this was less than $6,000 a month.

  Mei is one of many women in the territory who find their maternity leave pay is inadequate in face of rising prices and high living costs. Now labour groups believe the law must be revised to allow women a full salary during maternity leave.

  Independent legislator and Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) chief executive Lee Cheuk-yan introduced a private members' bill to the Legislative Council in April to amend the law.

  But as labour representatives gather this Wednesday to discuss the proposed legislation with the Legco Bills Committee, the three-year campaign to make full maternity leave pay mandatory, is still facing stiff opposition.

  Not from the Government which, Mr Lee said, has indicated it is in favour of the proposal. But business has registered its opposition.

   May Chow, executive director of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, said of Mr Lee's proposal: 'Overall, we don't support it.' Meanwhile, Liberal Party legislator James Tien Pei-chun, who represents the Federation of Hong Kong Industry, has argued that the changes will damage Hong Kong's business competitiveness.

  In addition some union members themselves have begun to question the proposal, arguing that with rising unemployment, the bill will only discourage employers from taking on female workers.

  Under current labour laws, an employer must pay at least two-thirds of a worker's monthly salary during her statutory 10-week maternity leave if she has been employed for more than 40 weeks.

   The issue first surfaced in 1992 when the Hong Kong Women Workers' Union and those representing the textile industry, lobbied the Government for full MLP. The Government promised to review the issue. It has only recently finished its study.

  In the past few years, however, the financial burden of having children on both parents has increased and female workers are pressing for full pay during their 10-week leave.

  A CTU survey carried out in April on the welfare of pregnant women in the workforce found that, of the 951 pregnant women interviewed, over half thought the existing minimum maternity leave payment required by law was insufficient. Seventy-four per cent thought they should receive full pay.

    Those interviewed said they had to spend an extra $2,500 to $10,000 during and after pregnancy. Over 60 per cent of the respondents had to dig into their savings while 20 per cent said their husbands had to work over time to meet extra costs.

 The poll also showed that over 80 per cent of those who received the two-thirds maternity leave payment worked in the manufacturing and service sector. For professional women, 61.4 per cent received a full salary while on maternity leave.

  Elizabeth Tang Yin-ngor, executive secretary at CTU and the main campaigner for full MLP, dismisses the claims of those who say the bill will affect women's chances in the job market.

  'It is true that the unemployment rate is rising, so their argument is convincing but incorrect. The fear that increased maternity leave pay will give employers an excuse not to hire women is invalid,' she said.

  'First, maternity leave payment only constitutes a small amount of employers' total labour costs. Secondly, there is a higher rate of Hong Kong women getting pregnant in their 30s, but this is the very group which local employers tend not to employ anyway.'   Ms Tang said the proposed changes concerning MLP will have minimum impact on the Government and employers.

   According to Mr Lee the extra payment would only amount to an additional $80 million a year for employers but would benefit a great number of female workers. The CTU survey shows that female workers in neighbouring Asian countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and mainland China are all entitled to full pay when on maternity leave.

  But Ms Chow of the Employers' Federation said: 'If you look at some Southeast Asian countries, they are offering full payment but look at the period women can take off, some are less than 10 weeks. Taiwan and Singapore have only eight weeks.'   She added that while local legislation states employers must pay the minimum of two-thirds of the monthly salary during the 10 weeks, many large employers, including the Government, give workers the full payment.

  To counter Mr Lee's proposed bill, Mr Tien has said he will move an amendment to change the existing maternity leave of 10 weeks at two-thirds pay to eight weeks of full pay to achieve parity with neighbouring territories like Taiwan and Singapore.

   Ms Chow pointed out that money should not be the only factor in considering the maternity benefits an employer offers.

  'Looking at other developing countries, the trend is to focus on the flexibility of time off for the mother rather than pay,' she said.

  'We have to understand what local women want.'   But for now, Mei, and others like her, are left wondering whether they will have to return to work before their maternity leave is up in order to cover their costs.

  'Since 1992, when the manufacturing industry began to move away from Hong Kong, many women wanted work and were prepared to cut short their 10-week maternity leave just to make more money,' Ms Tang said.

  'Inflation and the rising cost of living has also caused a lot of hardship for working women. For economic reasons, many women have had to compromise with their own health. But why should they?' 



The price of pregnancy