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| The government has doubled the rate of pay employees receive while on childcare leave, as a means to encourage workers, especially fathers, to play a larger role in raising their children. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han |
By Kim Bo-eun
From September, mothers and fathers on childcare leave will see their leave pay double in the first three months.
According to the revised ordinance to the Employment Insurance Act which was approved by a Cabinet meeting Monday, workers taking childcare leave starting in September will be able to receive 80 percent of their regular wages for the first three months.
Currently, it's 40 percent.
"Recent surveys show workers are most concerned about the decrease in income when deciding whether to take childcare leave, and the level of pay under the status quo is considerably lower than the levels of other developed nations," the labor ministry said.
Childcare subsidies have improved since they were first introduced in 2001.
In 2001, workers only received 200,000 won a month from their employment insurance. In 2011, the government raised the pay to 40 percent of their regular wages, marking 1 million won as the maximum and 500,000 won as the minimum.
A survey from the Korean Women's Development Institute on men considering taking childcare leave showed that 41.9 percent were worried about decreased income, 19.4 percent about losing competitiveness in the workplace, 13.4 percent forcing an extra workload on their colleagues and 11.5 percent on negative views toward men taking childcare leave.
According to ministry data, in Sweden, workers are paid 77.6 percent of their regular wages for the first 390 days of leave, and are paid their regular wages for the remaining 90 days. In Japan, workers are paid 67 percent of their regular wages for the first six months and paid 50 percent for the rest of the period, and in Norway, workers have the choice of either being paid 100 percent of their regular wages up until 49 weeks after childbirth or 80 percent of their regular wages until 59 weeks after childbirth.
The pay raise will also be applied for those who are on leave as of Sept. 1.
"The raise is expected to encourage men to take childcare leave, and create an environment in which both mothers and fathers participate in raising their children," the ministry said.
Ministry data shows the number of men taking childcare leave has been growing _ from 104 in 2003 to 6,109, as of July this year. The ministry expects the number will exceed 10,000 this year.
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