Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) Good news for expectant mothers: they can look forward to as much as full pay during maternity leave following a new measure announced Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor, effective immediately.

Under the new measure, women who take the up-to-56-day maternity leave allowed under the Labor Standards Act are now entitled to full pay during the time off as long as they have been at their jobs for more than six months. Otherwise, they receive half pay.

The ministry also aimed to tackle the differences in defining pay across different lines of work, as some people earn the lion's share of their take-home pay from performance bonuses rather than formal wages.

Noting that disputes have been common between workers and managers over how to determine paychecks, the ministry announced that maternity leave pay is to be calculated on the mom-to-be's average payments over six month's or within one month, whichever is higher.

Given the fact that many women earn less in the month or so of late pregnancy because of declining productivity, the new measures mean they can expect pay in line with what they were making before.

Also on Tuesday, the Ministry of Labor said that a revised set of rules related to the Trade Union Act will take effect Wednesday.

The new rules say that any trade union member who is fired amid an industry dispute can keep his or her membership at the union while taking legal action to resolve the dispute unless a court rules otherwise in a final decision that cannot be appealed.

The amendment will prevent employers from getting rid of union leaders through dismissing them and thereby stripping them of their membership.

(By Chang Ming-hsuan and Maubo Chang)
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