CRI听力:"Two-child Policy" Prompts Calls for Family-friendly Workplace Regulations

The so-called "one-child policy" was brought into law in the late 1970's as a way to limit population growth, given that the economy at the time was just starting to open up to the outside world, and the domestic resources, particularly in urban areas, were being stretched to the limit.

As the policy was focused on the country's urban population, minority groups and most rural areas were exempted from the changes.

But now that more than half of China's 1.34-billion people are living in urban areas, and China's economy has become the 2nd largest in the world, authorities have decided policy changes are needed.

National Health and Family Planning Commission Minister Li Bin.

"The implementation of the policy will optimize the demographic structure, increase the labor supply, ease pressure from an aging population, promote a balanced development of the population and help improve the health of the overall economy."

However, HOW the changes to the "one-child policy" will affect INDIVIDUAL families is something a lot of people are starting to wonder about.

Li Lanlan moved to Beijing with her husband to find work, and is one of many people in the city living without a hukou, or Beijing residency permit.

This means she, along with her husband and their only child, don't have access to the same social benefits that someone WITH a Beijing hukou would enjoy.

She says it's an issue they have to consider when thinking about a 2nd child.

"Right now we have to apply for a temporary residency permit, as well as pay the high tuition fees after our son is old enough to go to kindergarten. When he goes to primary school, the financial pressure is going to be even worse. Right now, we're just renting an apartment."

Another issue is the shift in the social dynamic in China since the "one-child policy" was introduced.

Rising prices brought on by the market economy, particularly in large cities in China, has increased the cost-of-living.

This is another factor young couples are also considering when even considering having ONE child, let alone a second.

30-year old Fan Juan married 5-years ago, and is employed at a research center which is staffed predominantly by women.

She says at this point, she has no plans to have a child, in part, because employers are also taking family dynamics into consideration when they hire people.

"My job isn't overly stressful. Still, employers are taking childbirth into consideration. My current boss told me during the recruitment interview that I have a promising future in my field, but said it would be best for me not to have baby for at least 3-years."

How to tackle gender discrimination is something being actively debated in China.

Yang Changgang, demographics expert with the Southwestern University of Finance, says stronger maternity laws are needed.

"For female workers, there needs to be policies to protect them during both their pregnancy and during their nursing period to ensure that their income and career advancement won't be affected by having a child."

Yang Juhua is a professor of Socio-demographics at Renmin University.

She says employers in China need to be proactive in advance of the "two-child policy."

"Large and medium sized companies should coordinate with their local communities to find child-care services for their employees. If that's not an option, companies should then consider setting up a nursery at their firm."

But moves like this, while convenient for employees, can be cost-prohibitive for employers.

Because of this, Yang Juhua says the government can make it easier for companies by offering family-friendly policies.

"A tax cut could be feasible. All companies have to pay taxes. But if the authorities can provide tax cuts to companies based on the proportion of female employees they have and how many are going to have a second child, it could be an incentive for employers to make family-friendly changes."

Once the "2-child policy" takes effect, China's population is expected to grow by an additional 20-million per year.

This could mean around 30-million people will be joining the work force every year by 2050.

China's overall population, at 1.34-billion, is expected to hit 1.45-billion in the next 15-years.

For CRI, I'm Li Jianhua.