安徽省計劃推行痛經假引廣泛爭議

Female workers in Central China's Anhui province will enjoy paid menstrual leave, following the example of their peers in neighboring Hubei province and South China's Hainan province. However, the practice has provoked widespread controversy, the Beijing News reported.

根據北京新聞報道，中國中部地區的安徽省效仿鄰省的湖北省以及中國南部的海南省，將會對女性職工實行月經期間帶薪休假政策。然而這卻引起了廣泛的爭議。

According to the Anhui provincial government, from March, female workers may take a paid menstrual leave for one or two days on production of a certificate from a legal Medical institute or hospital.

根據安徽省政府消息，從今年3月起，女性員工在月經期間只要出示醫療機構或者醫院的痛經證明就可以帶薪休假一到兩天。

However, the three sides concerned -- workers, employers and medical institutes -- all feel this is a difficult issue to handle properly.

然而，三個相關方面人員：員工，僱主和醫療機構，都覺得這個事情很難恰當處理。

Last year, an investigation was carried out in South China's Guangdong province when local authorities were considering menstrual leave. However, more than 20 percent of the investigated females were unwilling to take leave for various reasons, such as exposing their private affairs and causing delays in work.

去年，在中國廣東省南部地區當地有關部門針對月經休假並進行了一次調查。然而，由於種種原因，如暴露自己的私事，或者延誤工作等，超過20%的被調查的女性不願採取休假。

Similar worries were felt by a female bank employee in Anhui, who said: "I will consider my work schedule first. There are penalties for those who fail to complete work tasks. I'm afraid my boss will be unhappy."

安徽省一名女性銀行職員也有同樣的憂慮，她說：“我會先考慮我的工作進度。如果不能如期完成工作任務就會受到懲罰。我怕我老闆不高興。”

Employers also revealed a sense of pressure if they are required to grant paid menstrual leaves. A hotel manager in Beijing said that besides female workers' health, an employer also has to consider operational costs. Paid leave will add to the cost of a company, which will make employers hesitant to hire female workers in the future. Besides, it's difficult to judge if the employee is really sick or just cashing in on being a woman.

此外，一些僱主也對經期帶薪休假表示有些壓力。北京的一位酒店經理表示，除了員工的身體健康問題，我們還需要考慮酒店的運行成本。經期帶薪休假會增加公司的成本，同樣也會使僱主將來不願意招聘女員工。此外，很難判斷員工是真的身體不適還是憑藉自己是女性而渾水摸魚。

Li Yinhe, a renowned Chinese sociologist, suggested the authorities pay attention to the side effects of the policy if it causes tension between employers and employees.

中國知名社會學者李銀河表示，因爲這項政策很可能引起僱主和職員間關係緊張，所以建議政府當局慎重考慮這項政策的負面影響。

As for doctors, there are also problems, because it's difficult to evaluate the degree of menstrual pain an individual woman might suffer. Tan Xianjie, a gynecologist of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that, due to a lack of clear standards, the diagnosis of menstrual cramps is usually based on patient description, and only a handful of people would probably visit hospitals just to obtain a certificate for menstrual leave.

對於醫生來說，同樣會面對一些難以處理的問題，因爲他們很難判斷出一位女性可以承受的痛經程度。北京協和醫院婦科醫生譚賢潔說，由於缺乏明確的標準，痛經診斷通常只是根據患者的口述，而且只有少數人會去醫院開痛經證明。

Hainan and Hubei provincial governments issued regulations in 1993 and 2009 respectively, suggesting employers grant paid menstrual leave. However, according to a local newspaper, the policy was not effectively implemented in Hainan as it was not mandatory.

海南省和湖北省政府分別於1993年和2009年頒佈了經期帶薪休假的條令。然而根據當地的新聞報道，由於條令不是強制性的，所以這項政策並沒有得到有效實施。