COUNTRIES
ACROSS THE WORLD PRESS FOR PAID MENSTRUAL LEAVE
Many women experience
painful periods around the globe, but only a few countries around the world,
and mostly in Asia, allow them to take time off work to rest.
With a new bill released
by the government on Tuesday, Spain hopes to be the first Western country to
follow its lead, allowing women to take unlimited leave for period pain if they
obtain a doctor's certificate.
The plan comes at a time
when there is a global feminist drive to break down taboos around menstruation,
but the bill has seen opposition from Spanish unions, who fear that menstrual
leaves might not liberate women but may encourage companies to hire males
first.
Here is a look at how
other countries deal with menstrual leave:
INDONESIA
In 2003, Indonesia passed
a law which allows women to take two days of paid menstruation leave every month
without them being required to give advance notice.
However, in practice, the
provision is optional.
Many employers simply
provide one day of menstrual leave every month, while others do not provide any
at all, either because they are uninformed of the legislation or because they
prefer to ignore it.
The necessity to give
women 24 days of menstrual leave on top of their 12 days of yearly leave,
according to an International Labour Organization report from 2003, represented
an important cost for many businesses, which resulted in the discrimination against
women regarding recruiting policies.
JAPAN
Companies must agree to
give women menstruation leave if they seek it, for as long as they need it,
according to a 1947 regulation in Japan.
It does not, however,
compel them to pay women during menstrual leave, but according to a 2020 labour
ministry poll, roughly 30% of Japanese enterprises offer full or partial payment.
However, few women make
use of the law. Only 0.9 percent of eligible workers have taken menstrual
leave, according to a survey of about 6,000 businesses.
SOUTH KOREA
Employers who refuse to
give their employees one day of unpaid menstruation leave per month face fines
of up to 5 million won ($3,910).
Until 2004, when South
Korea switched from a six-day to a five-day work week, the leave was paid.
In a 2018 poll, a little
more than 19% of women took time off, which was more than in Japan. Many,
however, stated that they are unable to do so due to conservative or
unfavourable work settings.
TAIWAN
The Act on Gender
Equality in Employment in Taiwan provides women with three days of menstruation
leave per year, which are not deducted from the statutory 30 days of sick
leave.
In any given month, women
can only take one day off.
Workers on menstruation
leave, like those on sick leave, only get half their pay.
ZAMBIA
When Zambia approved a
rule in 2015 allowing women to take a day off work during their period without
giving notice or providing a doctor's note, it became the envy of other African
countries.
Despite the fact that the
policy is widely accepted and supported, not all employers gladly comply with
the law on "Mother's Day."
Women are beginning to
use their rights, thanks to labour unions, Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi, a communications
expert and women's rights campaigner, told AFP.
AUSTRALIA, INDIA, FRANCE:
COMPANIES LEAD THE WAY
Some businesses did not
wait when they were legally required to give women menstrual leave.
The Victorian Women's
Trust, an Australian gender equality organisation, provides employees with 12
days of menstrual and menopause leave; Zomato, an Indian food delivery startup,
provides 10 days of period leave; and La Collective, a French company, gives
women one day of period leave per month.
Many women experience
painful periods around the globe, but only a few countries around the world,
and mostly in Asia, allow them to take time off work to rest.
With a new bill released
by the government on Tuesday, Spain hopes to be the first Western country to
follow its lead, allowing women to take unlimited leave for period pain if they
obtain a doctor's certificate.
The plan comes at a time
when there is a global feminist drive to break down taboos around menstruation,
but the bill has seen opposition from Spanish unions, who fear that menstrual
leaves might not liberate women but may encourage companies to hire males
first.