More employers offering paternity leave in HK

Hong Kong's Secretary for Labor & Welfare Matthew Cheung said Wednesday that more employees in Hong Kong are enjoying paternity leave as a survey showed that the percentage of companies offering the benefit rising. Conducted by the city's Labor Department, the survey found the percentage of respondent organizations voluntarily offering paternity leave to their employees increased from 16 percent in 2006 to 38.7 percent this year, Cheung told lawmakers at a Legislative Council meeting. Six years of promotional effort by the Labor Department has seen a continuous rise in the number of organizations providing paternity leave to employees, he said. The department has been promoting a family-friendly culture, including the provision of paternity leave, through its network of 18 Human Resources Managers Clubs and nine industry-based Tripartite Committees since 2006, along with seminars, roving exhibitions, publicity videos, feature articles, and leaflets. The Hong Kong government has provided five working days of paid paternity leave to staff since April 1. Up to the end of last month, 1,315 paternity leave applications from government employees had been approved.