攜程集團日前宣布，攜程計劃未來投入10億元生育補貼，用于激勵員工生育。全球范圍內入職滿3年的攜程員工，無論性別，每新生育一個孩子，將獲得每年1萬元的現金補貼，發(fā)放至孩子滿5周歲后終止。

China's leading online travel agency Trip.com Group announced on Friday that it plans to provide 1 billion yuan ($137.74 million) in subsidies to support employees who choose to have more children. As the first Chinese company to introduce such a policy, which conforms with national efforts to encourage childbirth, it has sparked heated discussion among the public about the cost of raising children and the impact on women's careers.

中國領先的在線旅行社攜程集團6月30日宣布，計劃投入10億元來補貼生育多孩的員工。攜程是國內第一家推出這種生育補貼政策的公司，這與當前國家鼓勵生育的舉措是一致的。攜程此舉引發(fā)了公眾關于育兒成本以及生孩子對婦女事業(yè)影響的激烈討論。

Starting from July 1, both male and female employees who have worked at the company for three years or more will be eligible to receive an annual cash bonus of 10,000 yuan ($1,377) per year for each newborn until the child reaches the age of five, the company said.

攜程宣布，從7月1日開始，入職滿3年的攜程員工，無論性別，每新生育一個孩子都將獲得每年1萬元的現金補貼，發(fā)放至孩子滿5周歲后終止。

"Employees are the greatest asset of the company and we are committed to creating a better and more supportive working environment for them," said James Liang, executive chairman of the board of Trip.com Group.

攜程集團的董事局主席梁建章表示，員工是企業(yè)最寶貴的財富，我們致力于為員工創(chuàng)造一個更好的工作環(huán)境，為員工提供更大的支持。

"Through the introduction of this new child care benefit, we aim to provide financial support that will encourage our employees to start or grow their families without compromising on their professional goals and achievements," said Liang, who is also a demographic economist.

作為人口經濟學家，梁建章還指出，通過推出新育兒福利，旨在為員工生育提供經濟支持，讓他們不會因生育而犧牲自己的職業(yè)目標與成就。

In 2022, China recorded 9.56 million newborns, and the birthrate was 0.68 percent. It was the first time since 1950 that the annual population of newborns dropped below 10 million, and the third consecutive year the birthrate had dropped below 1 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

國家統計局數據顯示，2022年，中國出生人口數量為956萬，出生率為6.8‰。這是1950年以來，年出生人口首次跌破1000萬，也是連續(xù)第三年出生率跌破1%。

The high cost of raising a child has become an important factor that is affecting fertility rates. In China, the average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 is 485,000 yuan, equivalent to 6.9 times the annual per capita GDP, according to YuWa Population Research, a public welfare institution dedicated to population and related public policy research in China.

育兒成本高已經成為影響生育率的一個重要因素。育媧人口研究智庫的數據顯示，在中國，把孩子養(yǎng)到18歲的平均成本是48.5萬元，相當于全年人均國內生產總值的6.9倍。育媧人口研究智庫是致力于中國人口和相關公共政策研究的公益機構。

The cost of raising a child in China is higher than that in some developed Western countries, the institution said, adding the population of newborns in China declined for six consecutive years from 2017 to 2022.

該機構稱，中國的育兒成本高于某些西方發(fā)達國家的水平，并指出中國出生人口數量從2017年到2022年已連續(xù)下跌6年。

Liang believes that family welfare policies such as inclusive child care services, equal maternity leave for men and women, protection of the rights of single-parent families, and open access to assisted reproductive technologies, can effectively help working women reduce the time and cost of parenting and achieve a win-win situation for both the family and employers.

梁建章認為，包括托幼一體化服務、男女平等產假制度、保障單親家庭權益、開放輔助生育技術在內的家庭福利政策能有效幫助職場女性減少育兒時間和成本，讓家庭和雇主達到共贏。

The baby bonuses have sparked an intense online debate. Many women said that getting pregnant affects their opportunities to get promoted and advance their careers. Some companies prefer that female employees don't get pregnant, as it shortens their working time. Other netizens said the subsidies fall well short of covering the huge cost of bearing and raising a child.

攜程的生育補貼引發(fā)了網上的激烈討論。許多女性表示，懷孕讓她們失去了晉升和職業(yè)發(fā)展的機會。有些公司更希望女員工不要懷孕，因為這樣會縮短她們的工作時長。其他網友表示，攜程的補貼金額相比巨大的生育成本只是杯水車薪。

Over the past few years, Trip.com has implemented a number of pro-family policies. A hybrid-working scheme has been introduced, which allows employees to opt to work remotely on certain days of the week. The policy has been applied in 14 countries and regions.

過去幾年來，攜程已經推出了一系列對家庭友好的政策。攜程的混合辦公制度允許員工在每周的某幾天遠程辦公。這一政策已在14個國家和地區(qū)的攜程辦事處實行。

英文來源：中國日報網

翻譯&編輯：丹妮