Amid Taiwan's declining birth rate crisis, it's crucial for companies to support and create environments conducive to marriage and childrearing, alongside government initiatives and facilities. In 2023, our company was honored with the Parenting Taiwan Family Friendly Workplace Award, being the sole state-owned enterprise among 26 others awarded. According to surveys, these 26 awarded companies collectively witnessed the birth of 5,026 newborns, equivalent to onethird of the newborn population in Taipei City. The recognition underscores the importance of companies supporting and promoting family-friendly workplace environments in addressing the issue of declining birth rates.
Sustainable talent management is fundamental to supporting a company's continued operations. Departing from traditional industry norms, our company established a Gender Equality Working Group from its inception, advocating for gender equality policies. This evolved into mainstreaming gender considerations and subsequently prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, progressively establishing a friendly workplaceenvironment and actively promoting a family-friendly workplace environment.
Our company places particular emphasis on meeting the housing and child-rearing needs of employees. To address various employee needs, we have implemented multiple supportive measures. These include special relocation projects for those needing to personally care for relatives with severe illnesses or sudden family emergencies, full-pay family caregiving leave, extended marriage, maternity, paternity, and prenatal examination leave, as well as reducing daily working hours by one hour for employees with children under 3 years old, coupled with expanded flexible working hours. We believe that these diverse family-friendly workplace measures can assist employees in balancing work and family life. In 2023, our company welcomed a total of 55 newborns, with a birth rate of 2.69% based on the year-end staff count of 2,043.
Additionally, we highly value harmony in our employees' families, regularly offering household division of labor courses to guide employees on gender division of labor issues, providing parenting dialogue and education books, and organizing the annual Port Family Day event to strengthen connections between the company, employees, and their families. From marriage to parenthood, our company cares for employees at every stage, allowing them to enjoy a fulfilling work-life balance. Our innovative and distinctive family-friendly measures actively contribute to the realization of the United Nations SDGs, particularly Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 4 (Quality Education), and 5 (Gender Equality).
We believe that employees are the cornerstone of a company's sustainable operation. Therefore, creating a work environment that fosters a sense of belonging and enables employees to fully unleash their potential is not only an indicator of a company's happiness but also a crucial factor in its sustainable development. Over the years, our company has actively promoted a friendly workplace, striving to create a "Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive" (DEI) work environment, respecting and valuing the diversity and differences of each employee, supporting them in fully utilizing their strengths in suitable positions, and fostering a sense of accomplishment and belonging.
In 2023, CommonWealth Education hosted the Parenting Taiwan Family Friendly Workplace Award, recognizing Taiwan's most family-friendl enterprises, identifying exemplary companies in supporting family-friendly workplaces. Being the only state-owned enterprise to receive this recognition underscores the company’s longstanding commitment to creating a friendly workplace. This acknowledgment reflects the dedication to promoting various family-friendly workplace initiatives, earning external acclaim.
Family-Friendly Measures
Early Childhood Education Center
The company has established workplace childcare service centers in Keelung, Taichung, and Kaohsiung in accordance with the "Implementation of Regulations for Workplace Mutual Aid Education and Childcare Services" as stipulated by the government's promotion of publicized childcare policy. These centers are located either within the company's office buildings or nearby areas, prioritizing childcare facilities for employees. They cater to children aged 2 to 6 years old. The establishment of these three centers received a total of NT$ 2,670,000 in funding and performance bonuses from the Ministry of Education's K-12 Education Administration in 2023, including subsidies for operational expenses and the provision of facilities and equipment.
To create a friendly workplace and accommodate employees' childcare needs, starting from June 1, 2022, our company implemented measures that exceed the provisions of Article 19 of the Act of Gender Equality in Employment. In addition to allowing a daily reduction of working hours by 1 hour, with full pay and no adverse consequences, we also expanded flexible working hours from 8:00 am to 10:00 am for start time and from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm for end time. This provides employees with greater flexibility in their working hours to support their childcare responsibilities. As of the end of December 2023, a total of 127 applications have been approved for this arrangement.
In response to the pandemic situation, temporary accommodation services and applications for working from home were provided.
In response to government epidemic prevention measures, various county and city governments may announce a shift to distance learning or suspend classes for entire classes due to confirmed cases among students. To assist colleagues in balancing work and family care, apart from temporary accommodation services, employees may also choose to apply for remote work from home under the company's epidemic prevention leave regulations to take care of children under 12 years old. In 2023, a total of 137 applications were made for remote work from home. As the epidemic situation improved in 2023, the company also complied with the instructions of the Executive Yuan's Directorate-General of Personnel Administration to cease applying epidemic-related supportive measures on August 15. Additionally, by the end of the same year, guidelines for implementing remote work were established specifically for individuals with disabilities, serious illnesses, pregnant employees, or those responsible for caring for relatives with disabilities, serious illnesses, or pregnancies, as well as children under 12 years old.
Special Relocation Arrangements
To assist employees who have relocation needs but do not yet qualify for relocation, the company has established special relocation regulations. Individuals who fall under special circumstances such as "having to personally care for immediate family members with serious illnesses," "requiring family care due to the employee's own serious illness," "sudden incidents or major accidents at home," and "being the primary caregiver for children under 3 years old and having served at the same port for at least 1 year" may submit relevant proof documents and apply for special relocation based on actual needs. In 2023, the company received 1 application for special relocation.
