Order of the State Council No. 619

April 28, 2012

The Special Provisions on Labor Protection of Female Employees was ratified by the 200th Executive Meeting of the State Council on April 18, 2012. It is hereby promulgated and shall take effect as of the day of promulgation.

Special Provisions on Labor Protection of Female Employees

Article 1 These Provisions are formulated for the purpose of mitigating and resolving the specific difficulties faced by female employees during employment caused by their physical characteristics and protecting the health of female employees.

Article 2 Employers including state organs, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, individual economic organizations and other social organizations and their female employees thereof within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall be governed by these Provisions.

Article 3 Employers shall strengthen labor protection of female employees, take measures to improve the labor safety and hygiene conditions for female employees and provide training to female employees on labor safety and hygiene.

Article 4 Employers shall abide by the provision on the scope of labor prohibited for female employees. Employers shall give written notice to the female employees on the positions thereof that fall within the scope of labor prohibited for female employees.

The scope of labor prohibited for female employees is provided in the appendix hereunder. The work safety supervision and administration department of the State Council shall work together with the human resources and social security administrative department of the State Council and the hygiene administrative department of the State Council to make adjustment on the scope of labor prohibited for female employees according to the economic and social development.

Article 5 Employers shall not lower the salary, dismiss or terminate the labor contract or employment contract with female employees for the reasons of pregnancy, giving birth or lactation.

Article 6 For female employees who cannot adapt to their original job scope during their pregnancy, employers shall reduce the labor load or arrange other suitable work based on the medical certification issued by medical institutions.

For female employees who are more than 7 months pregnant, employers shall not extend their working time or arrange night duty, and shall arrange certain break intervals during the working hours.

The prenatal examination carried out during the working hours of pregnant female employees shall be included into the working hours.

Article 7 Female employees shall be entitled to 98 days of maternity leave after delivery, 15 days of which can be taken before the delivery. In the event of difficult labor, an additional 15 days maternity leave shall be granted. In case of multiple births, an additional 15 days maternity leave shall be granted for each additional infant.

Female employees who suffer a miscarriage within 4 months of the pregnancy shall be entitled to 15 days maternity leave, and those who suffer a miscarriage after 4 months of pregnancy shall be entitled to 42 days maternity leave.

Article 8 Maternity benefits during the maternity leave for female employees who have joined the childbirth insurance shall be paid from the childbirth insurance fund based on the monthly average salary of the employee for the previous year; for female employees who have not joined the childbirth insurance, employers shall make the payment based on the salary of the female employees before the maternity leave.

The medical expenses for delivery or miscarriage, depending on the items and standards provided in the childbirth insurance, shall be paid from the childbirth insurance fund for female employees who have joined childbirth insurance, and shall be paid by the employers for female employees who have not joined the childbirth insurance.

Article 9 For female employees who are nursing infants for less than one year, employers shall not extend their working hours or arrange night duty.

Employers shall arrange one hour every working day as nursing time for female employees who are breast-feeding. For female employees with multiple births, an additional one hour nursing time shall be granted to each subsequent infant.

Article 10 Employers with many female employees shall, based on the needs of female employees, establish facilities including female wash room, rest room for pregnant women and nursing room to resolve the difficulty in the aspects of physiological hygiene and nursing for female employees.

Article 11 Employing units shall prevent and stop sexual harassment towards female employees at the working place.

Article 12 The human resources and social security administrative department and work safety supervision and administration department of the people's government above the county level shall be responsible for the supervision and examination on the employers in respect of implementing these Provisions according to their authority respectively.

Trade unions and female organizations shall carry out supervision on the employers in respect of implementing these Provisions according to the law.

Article 13 In the event that an employer violates the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 6, Article 7 or Paragraph 1 of Article 9, the human resources and social security administrative department of the people's government above the county level shall give an order for rectification within a given period, and impose a fine based on the standard of more than RMB1, 000 and less than 5,000 for each female employee adversely affected.

In the event that an employer violates the provision of Article 1 or Article 2 of the Appendix hereof, the work safety supervision and administration department of the people's government above the county level shall give an order for rectification within a given period, and impose a fine based on the standard of more than RMB1, 000 and less than 5,000 for each female employee adversely affected. In the event that an employer violates the provision of Article 3 or Article 4 of the Appendix hereunder, the work safety supervision and administration department of the people's government above the county level shall give an order for rectification within a given period, and impose a fine of more than RMB50,000 and less than RMB300,000; where the case is serious, an order shall be given to suspend the relevant business operation, or a report shall be made to the relevant people's government to order a close-down according to the authority regulated by the State Council.

Article 14 In the event that an employer violates any provision hereof and infringe the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the female employees may make a complaint, report or claim according to the law, and apply for mediation and arbitration with labor disputes mediation and arbitration institutions according to the law. If they are dissatisfied with the outcome of the arbitration, application can be filed in the people's court for litigation.

Article 15 In the event that an employer violates the provision hereof and infringe the legitimate rights and interests of female employees and thereby causing a loss, it shall be obliged to pay compensation. If the act of the employer, the managing personnel directly in charge and other directly responsible personnel thereof has constituted a crime, investigation shall be conducted for criminal liability.

Article 16 These Provisions shall take effect as of the day of promulgation. The Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees promulgated by the State Council on July 21, 1988 shall be revoked simultaneously.

Appendix: The Scope of Labor Prohibited for Female Employees

I. The scope of labor prohibited for female employees includes the following:

1. Underground and mines operations;

2. Operation of labor falling into Class 4 intensity provided in the physical labor rating standard; and

3. Operation with more than 6 loads within one hour and the load exceeds 20kg each time, or operation with interval load which exceeds 25kg each time.

II. The scope of labor prohibited for female employees during the period of menstruation includes the following:

1. Operation in cold water falling into the scope of Class 2, 3 or 4 as provided in the rating standard of operation in cold water;

2. Operation in low temperature falling into the scope of Class 2, 3 or 4 as provided in the rating standard of operation in low temperature;

3. Operation of labor falling into the scope of Class 3 or 4 intensity provided in the physical labor rating standard; and

4. Operation falling into the scope of Class 3 or 4 as provided in the rating standard for high-rise operation.

III. The scope of labor prohibited for female employees during the period of pregnancy includes the following:

1. Operation with toxic substance in the air of the operation site including lead and its compounds, mercury and its compounds, benzene, cadmium, beryllium, arsenic, cyanide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon disulfide, chlorine, hexanolactam, chloroprene, vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, aniline and formaldehyde, which the density exceeds the state occupational hygiene standard;

2. Operation involving anti-cancer medicine and diethylstilbestrol production with exposure to anesthetic gas etc;

3. Operation with radioactive substance from non-sealed source, emergency disposal of nuclear accident and radiation accident;

4. High-rise operation as provided in the high-rise operation rating standard;

5. Operation in cold water as provided in the cold-water operation rating standard;

6. Low-temperature operation as provided in the low-temperature operation rating standard;

7. Operation falling into the scope of Class 3 or 4 as provided in the rating standard for high-temperature operation;

8. Operation falling into the scope of Class 3 or 4 as provided in the rating standard for operation in noise;

9. Operation of labor falling into the scope of Class 3 or 4 intensity provided in the physical labor rating standard; and

10. Operation in enclosed space, hyperbaric chamber or diving operation, operation with violent vibration, or operation requiring frequent stooping, climbing or crouching.

IV. The scope of labor prohibited for female employees during the nursing period includes the following:

1. Item 1, Item 3 and Item 9 in the scope of labor prohibited during the period of pregnancy; and

2. Operation with toxic substance in the air of the operation site including manganese, fluorine, bromine, methanol, organ phosphorous compounds and organ chlorine compounds whose density exceeds the state occupational hygiene standard.