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【社評雙語道】良好生育福利可提高員工工作效率

2018-03-19
■改善生育福利雖會增加企業成本,但可提高員工工作效率。 作者供圖■改善生育福利雖會增加企業成本,但可提高員工工作效率。 作者供圖

【原文】香港作為經濟發達富裕地區,在職婦女的生育福利、待遇卻遠遠落後於全球主要國家和地區。落實全薪產假、延長產假、改善待遇,有鼓勵生育、紓緩人口老化等多重作用,更可提升員工士氣、刺激經濟。

縱觀全球發達國家和地區,均延長產假以應對人口老化加劇問題。香港特區政府早已呼籲市民多生育,但鼓勵生育政策多年未見配合優化。現時本港在職婦女根據法例享有「前四後六」共10周產假,期間支取80%薪金,男士們則由2015年起有3天侍產假,同樣支薪80%。

相比之下,很多國家和地區,如法國、德國、韓國、新加坡、內地等等,在職婦女均享有全薪產假,大部分的產假日數較本港多,內地產假最少的省份亦有128天,英國則可長達1年。但是,本港自1995年將產假薪酬比例由三分之二上調至五分之四後,過去22年來再無修訂,明顯落後於人。延長產假、提升生育福利是大勢所趨。

本港人口老化加劇,對經濟社會發展構成巨大壓力,鼓勵生育正是紓緩人口老化、提升競爭力的不二途徑。影響生育意慾的原因眾多,諸如工作壓力大、收入兩極化、樓價高企等等都是制約因素,而這些因素很難一時三刻可改變。

相對而言,修改法例延長產假、提升生育福利待遇,則能在短期內達至,發揮鼓勵生育的效果,值得政府和商界多作努力和承擔,加大力度推行。

延長產假和全額支薪,表面看增加了企業成本,但必須看到,良好的生育福利體現企業對員工的關懷,增強員工對企業的歸屬感,有利提升工作效率,為公司創造更大價值,更重要的是為香港未來發展提供人力資源。本港不少大型企業已主動提供比政府規定更長的產假,藉此增加對優秀人才的吸引力,樹立良好的企業文化和企業形象。政府可以研究為延長產假的企業提供適當補貼,減輕中小企業的壓力。 (標題為編輯所加) (摘錄自香港文匯報社評8-3-2018)

Family-friendly policy can enhance employees' efficiency

【譯文】Hong Kong is among the most developed economies in the world, yet maternity welfare and protection in the city is lagging far behind her global counterparts. The implementation of fully paid and extended maternity leave, along with other improvements, could encourage childbearing and thereby relieve the pressure of an ageing population. Likewise, the enhanced benefits could provide a boost to employee morale and thus provide stimulus to the economy.

In the various attempts to cope with rapidly ageing populations, first world governments around the globe have unanimously resorted to expanding maternity leave. The Hong Kong government has long encouraged parenthood in the society, however the corresponding policies have not been optimised and a concerted effort is clearly lacking. Working women in Hong Kong are currently entitled to a statutory 10-week maternity leave which is paid at 80 per cent of their salary, and can start up to four weeks before the expected delivery date. On the other hand, men are entitled to 3 days of paternity leave at 80 per cent of normal pay since 2015.

In vivid contrast to Hong Kong, working women in countries such as France, Germany, South Korea, Singapore and China all enjoy fully paid maternity leaves, most of which are also longer in duration. For instance, the province that has the shortest maternity leave in China still boast 128 days of leave, while in the UK it could span as long as a whole year.

Statutory maternity leave pay in Hong Kong was last raised from two thirds of normal salary to 80 per cent in 1995, and has not been reviewed again for the past 22 years. Expanding maternity leave and boosting parenthood welfare are going to be inevitable.

Faced with an increasingly aged population and its consequential socio-economic impact, pro-natalist policies are the local government's best instrument to both alleviate the said problems and enhance competitiveness. There are many factors that affect desire for childbearing, such as high pressure from work, income polarisation, and unaffordable home prices. It is very unlikely that these factors can be changed in the short term.

Maternity leave extension, on the contrary, could achieve results relatively quickly. The government and the private sector should step up their efforts in its implementation.

Expanded and fully paid maternity leave might seem to be an extra cost for businesses at first glance. However, one must also understand that a family-friendly policy could show how the company care for its employees, thus enhancing their sense of belonging, efficiency and productivity. More importantly is that, in the long run, better parental leave policies could help provide human resources to Hong Kong's development in the future.

In an attempt to attract better candidates in the labour market and build up a better corporate image, many large enterprises in Hong Kong have already rolled out maternity leave policies that are more generous when compared with the statutory requirements.

The government could explore the possibilities of subsidising companies that agree to expand parental leave benefits, so as to ease the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.■Jeffrey Tse [ywc_jeffrey@hotmail.com]

Exercise

1.生育率

2.人口老化

3.侍產假

4.法定

5.企業社會責任

Answers

1. fertility rate

2. population ageing

3. paternity leave

4. statutory

5. corporate social responsibility

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