Mothers in East China's Zhejiang Province and Shanghai are expected to be granted an extended maternal leave up to 90 days at most, according to revised regulations on population and family planning approved on Thursday, a further practice responding to the country's efforts to encourage childbirth.
At the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 15th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress held on Thursday, the decision to amend the population and family planning regulations in Shanghai was approved.
East China's Zhejiang Province also approved the amended regulations on population and family planning, which took effect on Thursday. Along with the 98-day maternity leave based on national regulations, mothers will be entitled an extended 60 days of maternity leave when they give birth to their first child, 90 days for their second and third children.
Couples in Zhejiang will be entitled to 10 days of parental leave annually until their child turns three years old. Their salary, bonuses and other welfare shall be paid as usual during their leave, according to the revised regulations.
In Shanghai, the amended regulations clarify that one couple can have three children. Along with the 98-day maternity leave that mothers can obtain according to the national regulations, they also can have 60 days of maternal leave, up from 30 days previously.
Couples in Shanghai who have given birth in accordance with the items of the regulations are entitled to five days of parental leave each year until the child reaches 3 years old. Couples shall be paid at a normal level during their parental leave as well.
With a resident population of more than 24.87 million, Shanghai has witnessed a steady population growth from 2010 to 2020, with an annual growth rate of 0.8 percent, but it does contrast to the 3.4 percent annual growth rate from 2000 to 2010, according to the municipal government in May.
With continuous development, especially the influence of the "change of the concept of fertility" brought by industrialization and modernization, a "low fertility rate has become a problem" in most developed countries, Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics, said during a press conference held in May.
At present, there are about 3.8 million one-child families in Shanghai, with about 7.6 million parents with only one child. The regulations also noted that related rewards and assistance for those families will continue.
Both Zhejiang and Shanghai are among other regions that have launched detailed measures to support childbirth. On Tuesday, Central China's Henan Province announced to revise its regulations on population to legitimize the third-child policy and roll out a slew of support measures.
More than 10 provinces have added parental leave in their amended family planning regulations including Jiangxi and Sichuan, according to media reports.
China has been adjusting its one-child family planning policy in recent years. It partially implemented the two-child policy in 2013 and fully promoted it in 2015. China in July this year unveiled details of the third-child policy and supportive measures including more nurseries and flexible work leave.
