Standardize health protection for female employees, safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, and improve their overall health levels.

China has approximately 137 million female workers, a social force that cannot and should not be overlooked. Protecting the labor rights and interests of female workers is crucial to the physical and mental health, as well as the safety of life, of the vast majority of women, and it also plays a vital role in economic development and social stability. In 2012, the State Council promulgated and implemented the "Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Workers," aimed at strengthening labor protection for female workers, ensuring their safety and health at work, and safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests. On June 8, 2022, the "Opinions of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions on Strengthening Trade Union Work for Female Workers in the New Era" once again emphasized the need to uphold the legitimate rights and special interests of female workers. Trade unions are actively involved in the research, formulation, revision, and implementation of national and local laws, regulations, and policies related to the protection of female workers' rights and interests, and are promoting the issuance of implementing measures for the "Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Workers" at the local level. We must fully leverage the role of special collective contracts for the protection of female workers’ rights and interests, emphasizing key areas such as democratic management, maternity protection, hygiene allowances for female workers, and assistance in helping workers balance work and family responsibilities, thereby enhancing the quality of negotiations and the effectiveness of contract enforcement. On February 22, 2024, Comrade Xu Liuping, in his speech at the symposium celebrating International Women’s Day (March 8), called for the active protection of female workers’ rights and interests. We must continuously increase our involvement at the source, promote the establishment and improvement of a legal system for safeguarding female workers’ rights, and push for solutions to the most pressing, direct, and realistic issues facing female workers—such as employment discrimination, labor protection, and career development. Focusing particularly on groups like female workers in new forms of employment, we must continually intensify efforts in special collective contracts for the protection of female workers’ rights and in trade union legal supervision. We should closely monitor cases and public opinion related to female workers’ rights, and coordinate efforts to resolve these issues effectively. We must actively protect the legitimate rights and interests of female workers and fully guarantee their special rights and benefits. Protecting female workers’ right to health is an essential component of their rights advocacy; properly carrying out the four-phase protection measures for female workers directly affects whether their right to health is effectively protected. Currently, various provinces and cities have successively issued special protection measures and regulations for female workers within their jurisdictions. Many of these provisions include specific requirements for special health protection for female workers—for example, employers are required to provide monthly allowances for health care expenses or health care supplies; employers must arrange at least one gynecological examination per year or every two years for female workers, with the examination time counted as working hours and the costs borne by the employer. Employers that can afford it are encouraged to organize regular screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer among female workers. Although specific details vary from province to province, all these measures reflect a deep concern and care for the health of female workers. While these regulations describe the legitimate rights and interests of female workers, in practice many enterprises, institutions, and social organizations treat them merely as welfare benefits. In terms of providing health care supplies, they often limit themselves to distributing sanitary pads or even just towels and basic hygiene products, leaving the actual use of the allocated funds largely unaccounted for. As a result, these regulations have become mere formalities, undoubtedly infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of female workers.

Article 2, Chapter 1 of the “Regulations on Health Care for Female Employees” stipulates: Health care for female employees must adhere to a preventive approach, taking into account the physiological and occupational characteristics unique to women and strictly implementing all national policies and regulations aimed at protecting female employees. The preventive focus of health care for female employees is grounded in scientific evidence. Under normal circumstances, the vagina harbors between one and six types of bacteria, maintaining a slightly acidic environment (with a pH value typically ranging from 3.8 to 4.4). This mildly acidic environment inhibits the survival and reproduction of pathogenic bacteria—a condition medically referred to as the microecological milieu of the reproductive tract. Disruption of this internal milieu can lead to an increased incidence of gynecological inflammatory diseases. Moreover, treatments themselves can severely disrupt this internal milieu: excessive douching can upset the acid-base balance; over-treatment can cause microbial dysbiosis; various chemical products such as vaginal suppositories and creams can erode healthy vaginal walls and damage the internal milieu; and therapies involving light waves or cryotherapy can injure the mucous membranes of the reproductive tract, further disrupting the internal milieu. Therefore, health care for female employees should not rely solely on treatment but should prioritize prevention. Currently, products available on the market—such as wet wipes, toilet paper, sanitary pads, feminine washes, and underwear—are merely ordinary daily hygiene items that cannot effectively prevent gynecological diseases or reduce their incidence. They fail to address the fundamental health protection needs of female employees during their "four critical periods," meaning they do not provide genuine preventive benefits for female employees' health and thus do not meet the requirements set forth in the “Regulations on Health Care for Female Employees.” This is precisely why the practice of employers distributing sanitary pads and towels constitutes an infringement upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees. Consequently, it is imperative to standardize the distribution of health care products by employers, adopting a group-buying approach to procure health care items that comply with national standards, are capable of preventing gynecological diseases, and effectively reduce their incidence. Distributing these truly preventive health care products is of great significance for strengthening labor protection for female employees and safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.

1. Strengthen ideological attention.

The Party’s fundamental purpose is to serve the people wholeheartedly. Standardizing the provision of health and hygiene supplies by employers is a manifestation of the Party’s attention to the special rights and interests of female workers in the workplace. It enables female workers to feel genuine care and concern, serving as a vivid practice of wholehearted service to the people in the realm of labor. At the same time, it reflects the Party’s close ties with the masses, its keen understanding of female workers’ needs, and its proactive response to those needs. This demonstrates the Party’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of the people and underscores the Party’s fundamental purpose.

In recent years, trade unions at all levels have repeatedly organized “two-cancer” screening programs and held lectures on mental health and legal knowledge specifically for female employees. This itself underscores the trade unions’ high regard for the physical and mental well-being of female workers. Coupled with the "Special Provisions for the Protection of Female Workers' Labor" and specific local regulations on the protection of female workers in various provinces and cities, employers are also increasingly attentive to the issue of “two cancers” among female employees. However, shortcomings in the provision of sanitary and health supplies have led some employers to adopt a lucky attitude and exploit loopholes in laws and regulations. Standardizing the distribution of sanitary and health supplies by employers can further enhance their awareness and attention to these supplies for female employees, thereby motivating employers to take concrete actions to support female workers and strengthening preventive healthcare efforts for them.

II. Strengthen labor protection for female employees

The promulgation of special measures and regulations for the labor protection of female workers in various provinces and cities undoubtedly underscores the importance attached to the labor protection of female workers and serves as a safeguard for their legitimate rights and interests. Standardizing the practice of employers’ group purchases and distribution of health-care supplies is a way to refine and strengthen specific provisions in these special protection regulations. It also demonstrates the trade unions’ ongoing commitment to protecting the health of female workers, prompting employers to pay closer attention to women’s health issues. This, in turn, helps improve the health status of female workers, reduces gender discrimination in employment, promotes equal employment opportunities for men and women, enables female workers to fully realize their potential in a fairer environment, and further strengthens labor protection for female workers.

III. Safeguard the legitimate rights and interests and physical health of female employees.

Currently, the health care for female employees still emphasizes prevention as the primary approach. The general daily sanitary products provided by employers cannot effectively serve as preventive measures, clearly failing to meet the requirements set forth in the special measures and regulations on labor protection for female employees issued by various provinces and cities, as well as in the "Regulations on Health Care for Female Employees." Indeed, many employers even treat these products merely as benefits, thereby infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees—precisely as mentioned earlier. Standardizing the practice of employers using group purchasing to distribute sanitary and health care products not only safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of female employees but also demonstrates a proactive response to the cause of female employee health care. When employers adopt the group-purchasing method to distribute such products, the ultimate beneficiaries are all female employees. The rational use of these sanitary and health care products by female employees is of great significance for protecting the "four periods," preventing gynecological diseases, and maintaining the stability of the microecological environment of the reproductive tract. This, in turn, further promotes the physical health of female employees. Throughout this process, female employee organizations play an active role in supervision and standardization, ensuring that the protection of female employees' legitimate rights and special interests is truly put into practice.

Trade union organizations at all levels should intensify their efforts to safeguard workers’ rights in accordance with the law. Building on their current work to protect female workers’ labor rights and interests, they should explore new and effective ways to uphold the legitimate rights and special interests of female workers. They must earnestly implement all protective provisions granted to female workers by law, and, in light of the practical realities of trade union work among female workers, continue to deliver more tangible benefits and good deeds for the vast number of female workers. This includes enhancing female workers’ health awareness, improving their overall health status, and showing care and concern for their contributions to society.