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Bosses in Taipei not keen on setting up breastfeeding rooms: poll
2010/03/07 16:53:50 |
Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Most Taipei-based companies are not very interested in setting up breastfeeding rooms for the convenience of female employees, the results of a recent survey conducted by the Taipei City government showed Sunday.
Only 3.9 percent of the companies in Taipei City installed breastfeeding rooms on their premises in 2009, according to the Taipei city Department of Labor.
The survey, conducted by the department's Labor Standards Inspection Office at the end of 2009, found that "lack of space" was the main reason why these companies or business operations did not have breastfeeding rooms, as indicated by 39.3 percent of the respondents.
Nearly 28 percent of the 608 companies surveyed said it was not necessary for them to have such a space because their employees do not fall into the demographic of new or expectant mothers.
According to the 10.3 percent of the respondents, their reasons include the fact that there is no law requiring them set up breastfeeding rooms and their female employees consider it unnecessary.
Some companies said their employees are either past childbearing age or are predominantly male, the survey found.
The Taipei City government has passed a regulation encouraging the establishment of breastfeeding rooms in public buildings and areas and allowing women to breastfeed in public spaces. The regulation is expected to take effect April 1.
The city government has also urged all companies in Taipei to install breastfeeding rooms on their premises for better treatment of nursing mothers, as stipulated in the statute governing gender equality in the workplace.
The Taipei City government's efforts followed the Cabinet's approval in January of regulations that would allow women to breastfeed in public spaces, which was seen as step toward better protection of women's rights.
The Cabinet regulations stipulate that women should not be banned, dispersed, disturbed or asked to move if they are breastfeeding their babies in a public area.
According to the draft bill, government agencies and business premises with floor space of more than 500 square meters, as well as public service facilities with over 1,000 square meters of floor space, must be equipped with clearly marked breastfeeding rooms.
Breastfeeding rooms must be established on the premises of such facilities, which include railway and metro stations and airport terminals, within one year of the promulgation of the regulations, the draft bill states.
Failure to install breastfeeding rooms and clearly mark them could result in fines of NT$6,000 (US$187) to NT$30,000, according to the bill.
Owners and staff of such establishments will be subject to a fine of between NT$4,000 and NT$20,000 if they fail to cooperate during random checks conducted by designated local government agencies, it adds.
According to the Cabinet-level Department of Health, 54.3 percent of Taiwan's women breastfeed in the first month after their babies are born, but the percentage falls to 37.9 percent two months later and to 25.8 percent four months down the line. (By Johnson Sun and Deborah Kuo) ENDITEM /pc
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