More breastfeeding rooms to be installed in workplaces next year

Shanghai trade union said on Thursday that it will add 400 breastfeeding rooms, known as “Care for Mothers Huts”, at work places and public areas in Shanghai next year.

For every such room opened between October 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018, the trade union will give 10,000 yuan (US$1,500) in allowances if its operators apply for the fund and the room passes muster.

The fund covers the air conditioner, television, air purifier, refrigerator, baby bottle sterilizer and necessary furniture for breastfeeding and resting in the room, according to the trade union.

The “Care for Mothers Huts” project was first introduced in 2013, and by the end of July this year there were already over 2,000 such rooms under the project all over the city, according to the trade union.

As another effort to help new parents in workplaces, the trade union also said that it will continue to encourage and sponsor the opening of nurseries at work places in 2018.

The trade union will fund nurseries established between January 1 and August 31 next year with up to 100,000 yuan in allowances per nursery.

The types of nurseries eligible include day care centers, summer and winter nurseries during school vacation, and those for parents with emergency needs.

The trade union requires its district branches to enhance supervision over the fund used for the breastfeeding rooms and nurseries and report problems and suggested solutions in a timely manner.

Including these two projects, the trade union announced nine projects for the welfare of city workers in areas such as labor arbitration, skill building, health services, poverty relief and recreation.

The trade union said it has handed out funds of about 295 million yuan to 15 projects which benefit about 10 million workers in Shanghai.