The maternity leave for female employees in our country has been extended from 90 days to 98 days.

This newspaper report (Reporter Sun Qian) states that yesterday, the State Council executive meeting reviewed and approved in principle the "Special Provisions on the Labor Protection of Female Employees (Draft)".

The draft adjusts the scope of labor prohibited for female employees, extends maternity leave from 90 days to 98 days, and standardizes maternity leave benefits.

Related regulation: Opinions on the "Regulations on Special Labor Protection for Female Employees"

Since the "Regulations on Labor Protection for Female Employees" were promulgated and implemented in 1988, they have played an important role in addressing the special difficulties female employees face in labor due to physiological characteristics, protecting their health. Considering the actual situation of China's economic and social development, to better protect the physical health of female employees, in February 2008, the former Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions submitted the "Regulations on Special Labor Protection for Female Employees (Revised Draft)" (for review) to the State Council for consideration. The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, after fully listening to opinions from relevant departments and localities, and through repeated research, demonstration, and revision, formed the draft for public consultation. The main contents of the draft for consultation are:

(1) Regarding the title of the regulations

According to Chapter 7 of the Labor Law concerning special labor protection for female employees, the title of the regulations was changed to "Regulations on Special Labor Protection for Female Employees."

(2) Regarding the scope of prohibited labor

The "Regulations on Labor Protection for Female Employees" stipulate the scope of prohibited labor for female employees in a relatively general manner. Currently, the main practice follows the "Provisions on the Scope of Prohibited Labor for Female Employees" formulated by the former Ministry of Labor. To enhance the operability of the regulations, the draft for consultation incorporates the content of the prohibited labor scope for female employees into the regulations and, based on the current economic and social development situation and thorough demonstration, makes appropriate adjustments to the scope of prohibited labor. At the same time, considering that the scope of prohibited labor needs to be continuously adjusted according to social realities, to avoid frequent revisions of the regulations due to adjustments in the prohibited labor scope, the draft for consultation lists the prohibited labor scope as an appendix to the regulations and stipulates that when adjustments to the prohibited labor scope are needed, the State Administration of Work Safety, together with the State Council's health administrative department, shall propose a plan to be approved and published by the State Council (Article 3).

(3) Regarding the number of maternity leave days and maternity leave benefits

First, referring to the provisions of the International Labour Organization conventions, maternity leave is increased from 90 days to 14 weeks (Article 7, Paragraph 1).

Second, referring to relevant regulations of the former Ministry of Labor, the miscarriage leave is detailed: female employees who miscarry before 4 months of pregnancy are entitled to no less than 2 weeks of maternity leave; those who miscarry after 4 months of pregnancy are entitled to no less than 6 weeks of maternity leave (Article 7, Paragraph 2).

Third, to align with the "Social Insurance Law" and referring to the "Interim Measures for Maternity Insurance for Enterprise Employees," it is stipulated that for female employees who give birth or miscarry, their wages or maternity allowances and medical expenses related to childbirth or miscarriage shall be paid by the maternity insurance fund if their employer has participated in maternity insurance; if not, the employer shall pay (Article 8).

(4) Regarding legal responsibilities

The provisions on legal responsibilities in the "Regulations on Labor Protection for Female Employees" are relatively general and difficult to implement in practice. To ensure the implementation of the regulations, the draft for consultation stipulates that if an employer violates the provisions of these regulations, the safety production supervision department, health administrative department, and human resources and social security administrative department shall order the employer to make corrections within a time limit according to their respective responsibilities, impose fines according to relevant provisions of the "Labor Security Supervision Regulations," or impose disciplinary actions on directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel according to law (Article 13).

Regulations on Special Labor Protection for Female Employees (Draft for Consultation)

Article 1 To reduce and solve the special difficulties female employees face in labor due to physiological characteristics and to protect their health, these regulations are formulated in accordance with the Labor Law.

Article 2 These regulations apply to state organs, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, individual economic organizations, and other units (hereinafter collectively referred to as employers) and their female employees within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 The scope of prohibited labor for female employees is listed in the appendix to these regulations. If adjustments to the scope of prohibited labor for female employees are needed, the State Administration of Work Safety, together with the State Council's health administrative department, shall propose a plan to be approved and published by the State Council.

Article 4 Employers shall take measures to improve labor safety and health conditions and provide labor safety and health knowledge training to female employees.

Employers shall strengthen special labor protection for female employees, shall not assign female employees to prohibited labor, and shall notify female employees in writing of positions within the employer that fall under the prohibited labor scope for female employees.

Article 5 Employers shall reasonably arrange rest time for pregnant female employees during working hours or correspondingly reduce their labor quotas; with the consent of the female employee, the employer may adjust her work position.

Article 6 For female employees who are more than 7 months pregnant, employers shall not extend their working hours or assign them to night shifts.

The time for prenatal check-ups during working hours for pregnant female employees shall be counted as working time.

Article 7 Female employees are entitled to no less than 14 weeks of maternity leave, including 2 weeks of leave before childbirth; in case of difficult labor, an additional 2 weeks of maternity leave is granted; for multiple births, an additional 2 weeks of maternity leave is granted for each additional baby.

Female employees who miscarry (including induced abortion) before 4 months of pregnancy are entitled to no less than 2 weeks of maternity leave; those who miscarry (including induced abortion) after 4 months of pregnancy are entitled to no less than 6 weeks of maternity leave.

Article 8 For female employees who give birth or miscarry, if the employer has participated in maternity insurance, the maternity insurance fund shall pay the maternity allowance to the female employee according to the average monthly wage standard of employees in the employer in the previous year; if the employer has not participated in maternity insurance, the employer shall pay wages according to the female employee's wage standard before childbirth or miscarriage.

Medical expenses for childbirth or miscarriage of female employees shall be paid by the maternity insurance fund if the employer has participated in maternity insurance; if not, the employer shall pay.

Article 9 During the breastfeeding period (including artificial feeding) of infants under 1 year old (hereinafter referred to as the breastfeeding period), employers shall not extend the working hours of female employees or assign them to night shifts.

Employers shall arrange no less than 1 hour of breastfeeding time daily during working hours for female employees in the breastfeeding period; for multiple births, an additional 1 hour of breastfeeding time shall be added daily for each additional infant.

Article 10 The state encourages employers with a relatively large number of female employees to establish female employee health rooms, maternity rest rooms, breastfeeding rooms, and other facilities.

Article 11 Employers shall arrange at least one common women's disease check-up for female employees every 2 years, and the check-up time shall be counted as working time.

Article 12 The safety production supervision and management departments of the people's governments at or above the county level are responsible for supervising and inspecting the implementation by employers of the prohibited labor scope for female employees listed in the appendix of this regulation. The health administrative departments are responsible for supervising and inspecting medical institutions' compliance with the third item of Article 3 and the second item of Article 4 in the appendix of this regulation regarding prohibited labor for female employees. The human resources and social security administrative departments are responsible for supervising and inspecting employers' compliance with Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 of this regulation.

Trade unions and women's federations shall supervise employers' compliance with this regulation according to law, assist administrative departments in their work, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of female employees.

Article 13 If an employer violates the provisions of this regulation, the safety production supervision and management departments, health administrative departments, and human resources and social security administrative departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, according to the division of responsibilities in Article 12 of this regulation, order the employer to make corrections within a time limit and impose a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan and not more than 5,000 yuan for each female employee harmed, or impose disciplinary actions on the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel according to law.

Article 14 If an employer violates the provisions of this regulation and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the female employees may file complaints, reports, or appeals to relevant administrative departments according to law, apply for mediation and arbitration with labor and personnel dispute mediation and arbitration agencies according to law, or file a lawsuit with the people's court.

Article 15 If an employer violates the provisions of this regulation and causes damage to female employees, it shall bear compensation liability; if a crime is constituted, the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be held criminally liable according to law.

Appendix:

Prohibited Labor Scope for Female Employees

I. Labor scopes prohibited for female employees:

(1) Underground mining operations;

(2) Operations with the fourth level of physical labor intensity according to the physical labor intensity grading standard;

(3) Operations involving carrying loads more than 6 times per hour with each load exceeding 20 kilograms, or intermittent load carrying with each load exceeding 25 kilograms.

II. Labor scopes prohibited for female employees during menstruation:

(1) Second, third, and fourth level cold water operations as specified in the cold water operation grading standard;

(2) Second, third, and fourth level low-temperature operations as specified in the low-temperature operation grading standard;

(3) Third and fourth level physical labor intensity operations as specified in the physical labor intensity grading standard.

III. Labor scopes prohibited for female employees during pregnancy:

(1) Operations where the concentration of toxic substances such as lead and its compounds, mercury and its compounds, benzene, cadmium, beryllium, arsenic, cyanide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon disulfide, chlorine, ethylene imide, chloroprene, vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, aniline, formaldehyde, etc., in the workplace air exceeds the national occupational health standards;

(2) Operations involving the production of anticancer drugs, diethylstilbestrol, exposure to anesthetic gases, and other operations that may cause miscarriage or fetal malformation;

(3) Handling of unsealed radioactive materials, emergency response to nuclear and radiation accidents;

(4) High-altitude operations as specified in the high-altitude operation grading standard;

(5) Cold water operations as specified in the cold water operation grading standard;

(6) Low-temperature operations as specified in the low-temperature operation grading standard;

(7) Third and fourth level operations as specified in the high-temperature operation grading standard;

(8) Third and fourth level operations as specified in the noise operation grading standard;

(9) Third and fourth level physical labor intensity operations as specified in the physical labor intensity grading standard;

(10) Operations in confined spaces, high-pressure rooms, or diving operations, operations involving strong vibrations, or operations requiring frequent bending, climbing, or squatting.

IV. Labor scopes prohibited for female employees during breastfeeding:

(1) The first and ninth items of the labor scopes prohibited during pregnancy;

(2) The third item of the labor scopes prohibited during pregnancy;

(3) Operations where the concentration of toxic chemical substances such as manganese, fluorine, bromine, methanol, organophosphorus compounds, and organochlorine compounds in the workplace air exceeds the national occupational health standards.