HK considers help at home, economic threat to SMEs

The government will consider introducing paternity leave for fathers to help their wives with newborns, a senior official announced yesterday.

Speaking after a luncheon organized yesterday by the Women's Commission to celebrate International Women's Day, Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said that the Labour Department is conducting studies on overseas experiences concerning paternity leave. He added that it is important for members of society to reach consensus at this stage.

"We have to strike a balance between the impact on employers and employees. Unlike other advanced economies, Hong Kong has a large number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs]; for this reason, we ought to be careful on how the possible implementation of paternity leave could affect our SMEs in particular," Cheung remarked.

"In the meantime, the Labour Department has been promoting friendly employment practices and encouraging corporations, big and small, to consider offering or providing paternity leave to their employees, whether paid or unpaid," Cheung said.

When asked if the government would start providing paternity leave to civil servants, Cheung said civil servants enjoy comparatively more leave than workers in the private sectors, and there would not be a problem for them to apply for leave when necessary.

Lawmakers and academics welcome the government's proposal, saying it would help promote a better work-life balance for the "working bees".

Randy Chiu, professor of Management at the Hong Kong Baptist University, believes that paternity leave would mean a great deal to families. "Women need support from their spouses after labor, and this helps release their anxieties and prevent post-natal depression."

Researchers have found that both men and women can suffer from pre- and post-natal depression. Mental and physical support is essential during this critical period. The government has thus two roles to play in introducing paternity leave.

"Firstly, the administration can help create a norm and let employers know healthy family life can boost staff morale and generate a sense of belonging to employees," Chiu notes.

"Secondly, the government should legislate paternity leave. Only big enterprises offer this welfare to their male staff. It is not that the SMEs cannot afford to provide similar benefits, they just don't feel like doing because it is not compulsory," Chiu adds. He admits, however, that it would be difficult to assign the full leave desired by fathers, thus, if implemented, the paternity leave would probably initially cover only three to five days.

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions legislator Wong Kwok-hing has been fighting for paternity leave since 2005. Concerning the supposed extra burden that paternity leave would add to SMEs, Wong believes that the administration worries excessively.

"It is common practice for coworkers to take care of each other and cover duties in times of need. Giving their workers a few days off so they can look after their newborn children and wives should not create problems for companies. On the contrary; staff tend to work harder when they realize that their employers are generous towards them," Wong says.

"I would suggest that employers grant seven days of paternity leave to fathers. This helps family life and promotes harmony," Wong affirms.

Meanwhile, Commission chairman Lam Woon-kwong revealed on a radio show yesterday that half of all sex discrimination complaints received by the Equal Opportunities Commission in the last five years were about the dismissal of pregnant women from the workplace. Lam urges corporations not to dismiss women because of pregnancy, as this diminishes their integrity and working attitude.

(HK Edition 03/09/2010 page1)