Three children play at a playground accompanied by their parents and grandparent. Photo: VCG

 

Considering that women might be under further pressure in the workplace after China further lifted its family planning policy to allow each couple to have up to three children, policymakers in East China's Jiangsu Province are pioneering legislation to help women secure jobs.

The province has drawn up a draft of regulations to promote employment and specified for the first time that female workers who proactively respond to the national policy and have more children shall be granted employment assistance and policy support and so do their employers.

The regulation stipulates that women enjoy the same labor rights as men in accordance with laws, making it clear that employers shall not refuse to employ women or raise the recruitment criteria for women, except for the types of work or posts unsuitable for women as stipulated by the nation. Employers shall not stipulate restrictions on female workers' marriage and childbearing in labor contracts or rules and regulations.

The draft regulation also stipulates fair employment opportunities for workers and prohibits employment discrimination. Violations against the regulations shall be ordered to be rectified in accordance with laws or face penalties between 10,000 yuan ($1,546) and 50,000 yuan in serious circumstances.

Although the policymakers vowed to protect the employment rights of women with more children through legislation, many netizens questioned whether the policy will effectively secure their jobs.

"Will I survive having three children and then going to work?" a netizen questioned on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo. Another commented that the problem will not be solved by just assuring women a job, instead more consideration should be given to the problem of who will take care of the children when their mother is working.

Other netizens suggested now that family planning used to be included in the assessment of Party members and officials, promotions now should be given to candidates with more children under the same conditions.