Finally some monthly relief? Chinese province weighs paid leave for women who suffer heavy pain during their cycle
A draft law requiring companies to give female employees time off without docking their pay will go before the Guangdong legislature next month, but some say bosses will become reluctant to hire 'troublesome' staff
Guangdong province is stepping up protection of its women workers with a legislative overhaul – including giving them paid days off when they suffer severe pain during menstruation, Chinese media reports.
But some women in the workforce doubt the legal protection will make a difference. Some say bosses will discriminate against those employees who are “troublesome”.
The new provisions have been published online in a public consultation that runs until December 3. The package then heads to the legislature for a vote, according to the New Express.
If passed, a woman will have to obtain a medical certificate attesting to her condition to qualify for the paid leave. But she won’t need to get the document every month – it will be valid for half a year.
The new step goes beyond a measure adopted in 1989, which banned companies from asking woman workers to do heavy physical labour or perform tasks in extreme weather while they were on their periods.
Guangdong is not the first Chinese province to take the step. Shanxi introduced a law last month that grants at least one day’s paid leave to workers who suffer from bad menstruation pain.
While some people have applauded the move, others questioned whether companies would become more reluctant to hire women.
“If a company approves such paid leave, it should be given some incentives,” the newspaper quoted one worker who frequently suffers painful menstruation as saying. “If it fails to do so, it should be punished. Otherwise it will be extremely difficult to carry out [the policy].”
If every women worker was as troublesome as you, should I still hire women?
A social media user said the regulation would “likely worsen the discrimination against women workers and make it more difficult for women to find a job”.
China’s government has tackled this area before. A national regulation on women workers’ health issued in 1993 states that women workers who suffered severe pain or lose a large amount blood during menstruation can take one to two days off after receiving medical certification, but they won’t get paid.
In reality few workers bothered to go to a hospital to collect the certificate, and many companies refused to recognise such leave days, the report said.
One woman working for a private company in Guangzhou, identified only by her surname Chen, said one time she could hardly bear her menstruation pain and asked her boss for leave. The employer insisted she present a certificate from a doctor, but she was in too much agony to go.
The second time she asked for such leave, her boss agreed, but it was counted as casual leave and she did not receive a bonus for full attendance at the end of the month.
Now it is hard to find a job and [we’re] all scared to be fired
“If every women worker was as troublesome as you, should I still hire women?” Chen recalled her boss as saying.
“Since then, no women colleagues dare to ask for leave when they have menstruation pain. Now it is hard to find a job and [we’re] all scared to be fired,” she was quoted as saying.
China also grants women workers 98 days of maternity leave, 15 of which can be taken before labour, according to national regulations. Those who go through difficult births or give birth to twins are given an additional 15 days.
