BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- China's legislative department should　speed up the creation of laws on maternity insurance in order to give women　equal opportunities in employment, said a senior Chinese trade union official　recently.

　　Chinese woman workers' rights are not well protected during their pregnancyand post-pregnancy period as China's immature maternity insurance mechanism is　undergoing reform, said Ni Haomei,vice chair of the All-China Federation of　Trade Unions (ACFTU) and director of the organization's National Committee forChinese Woman Workers.

　　China's maternity insurance system, established in the 1950s, regulates　that all the wages and medical costs of woman workers during the pregnancy and　breast-feeding period should be paid by their employers, which means that　enterprises with a higher percentage of woman workers bear heavier burdens. As　China is developing from a planned to a market economy, the maternity expenses　may directly affect the enterprises' profit and women's employment.

　　To meet the needs of China's economic reform and protect women's laborrights, the ACFTU suggested a reform of the maternity insurance system by　establishing an insurance fund.

　　According to the ACFTU, woman workers' maternity expenses, including salaryand medical costs, should be paid by an insurancefund collected through social　pools, which means the enterprises only pay the insurance premium and the women　workers get their expenses paid from the fund.

　　In 1988, some regions in China started to reform the maternity insurancesystem. China's former Ministry of Labor issued a trial regulation in 1994,saying that all the related medical costs and maternity allowances should bepaid by an insurance fund.

　　By the end of 2002, 14 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities hadset up local laws or regulations on maternity insurance. About 34.88 million　woman workers have benefited from it, or only 33 percent of China's total number　of woman workers.

　　"The maternity insurance reform is going very slowly and it is hard for the　concerned woman workers to get the pay they should," said Ni Haomei.

　　A survey by China Women and Children Rights Protection Group in　October 2002　showed that 40.1 percent of Chinese women workers have no special protection　during pregnancy and the figure is 25.6　percent for women during the　breast-feeding period.

　　"The lack of a corresponding law is the major reason that affects maternityinsurance development," said Ni.

　　The booming private sector sees a low percentage of maternity insurance　participation and some enterprises are even incapable of　participating as their　business drops sharply.

　　The present regulation, which is still in a trial period, couldnot include　all the woman workers into the insurance system and ithas no effective measures　to ensure the implementation of the regulation.

　　Ni suggested concerned departments organize an investigation group to study　the implementation of maternity insurance and create laws on this issue as soon　as possible. Enditem