Labor and women's rights activists say frequent daycare closures due to illness put parents, especially mothers, in a bind. They say it's time for a system of flexible parental leave that parents can take in day-long chunks to solve unexpected family crises without pressure from work.
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00:00Getting a spot in one of Taiwan's daycare centers is hard enough, but for many parents
00:04that's just the start of the challenge.
00:06Outbreaks of stomach bugs and other illnesses shut down the average daycare in a place like
00:10Taipei for up to a month a year.
00:13And if grandparents aren't in the picture, that can mean having to take the time off
00:16of work that most companies just won't allow.
00:19As Mother's Day approaches, labor activists say it's time for the government to take
00:22a hard look at this problem.
00:24Zhang Lihuan knows all about the toll unexpected closures due to illness can take on working
00:29families.
00:30Her grandchild's daycare closed three times last year.
00:33They gave up their spot, and the mother had to take seven months of parental leave to fill
00:37in.
00:38A slew of data these activists have collected shows that different cities have different
00:54standards, and that daycares in some regions close less often than in others.
00:58Still, sudden closures are a nationwide reality.
01:01Though the health ministry announced last month plans to cut down the number of closures due
01:06to sickness, parents could still be in a bind.
01:09Daycares will have the right to tell parents to take sick kids home.
01:12Labor unions say this shows the time off system needs reform.
01:16As for comment, the labor ministry told Taiwan
01:25Taiwan Plus that, one, the law already guarantees parental leave, family care leave, and reduced or
01:40adjusted working hours.
01:42Two, that the ministry has trialed flexible parental leave and found it helped men get more involved
01:57in childcare.
01:58And three, that it's reviewing and planning with a holistic mindset and will keep working to make the
02:03workplace more friendly.
02:05This doesn't seem to be what activists want to hear, though.
02:08President Lai Qingde says that while both parents can get up to two years of parental leave, the
02:12government needs to strengthen childcare subsidies and assistance, and improve the quality of childcare.
02:17Still, nearly a year after his inauguration, people here are calling on the president to keep a promise to put
02:22what his campaign called Flexible Parental Leave into place.
02:27And they say this should be separate from the sorts of leave workers are entitled to for rest.
02:31They say it's not just workers' rights at stake, but gender equality.
02:35Actually, it's very clear that if we don't have money today, it's always the women who are asking.
02:41If we don't have money today, it's always the women who are asking.
02:42If we don't have money today, it's always the women who are asking.
02:46Taiwan already has one of the world's lowest fertility rates.
02:52And these activists say financial reasons aren't the only reason why.
02:56They say if the government's serious about getting more people to have children, it's
03:00time for them to make sure working people have the time off they need to raise a family.
03:04And they want the government to keep the promises it's already made.
03:07Klein Wang and John Van Trieste in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.