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No babies allowed off schedule

Tuesday 7 July 2015 | Published in Regional

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BEIJING – A credit union located in northern China has published a policy telling female employees they could not get pregnant outside of an “agreed schedule,” lest they face consequences.

The Jiaozuo-based firm said married women on their payroll must agree to a schedule during which they can be pregnant and take care of their children.

If they have a baby outside of the window – or they become pregnant outside of wedlock – they could be fined 1,000 yuan (about $160), lose end-of-year bonuses and even miss out on promotion opportunities.

The policy also states that new female employees must not become pregnant during their first year with the firm.

According to AsiaNews, the firm released the notice after hiring a group of young women and feared a number of them may get pregnant at the same time, thus affecting productivity.

A representative of the company said leadership would reconsider the policy if most people disagreed with it, since it was just a draft.

News of the constricting announcement has gone viral on Chinese social media sites as citizens debate the issue. Some netizens commented on similar policies at their own jobs while others passionately criticized the rules as oppressive.

Family planning laws have been a key factor in the Chinese government’s population policy since the late 1970s.

Some rules required that citizens seek approval from employers for a range of important events such as marriage, pregnancy and divorce as Communist leaders attempted to control all aspects of life.