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Global QMR Q4 2022 | 14 • China's newly amended Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women, adopted by the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on October 30, 2022, came into effect on January 1, 2023. The amendments are the legislative response to the issues of sexual harassment in the workplace and sex-based discrimination that have been occurring frequently in the past few years. They strengthen the responsibility of the competent authorities and employers and flesh out the available protection for the rights and interests of female employees. • India's implementation of labor codes has been delayed again into 2023. The four labor codes i.e. Code on Wages, 2019 (Wage Code), Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (IR Code), Code on Social Security, 2020 (SS Code) and Occupational Health, Safety and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) (together 'Labor Codes') were passed by the Parliament and were granted Presidential assent in September 2020. The Labor Codes were originally expected to come into effect on April 1, 2021. • In an effort to reverse its record-low birth rate, South Korea is looking to extend parental leave for working parents. Under a proposed plan, couples will each be allowed to take up to a year and a half off in parental leave, up from the current one year. Both parents are eligible so long as they are working, though the pay structure for this new allowance is yet to be confirmed. It is unclear when the proposal will be put to a vote, but if confirmed, the change will make South Korea's already generous parental leave the longest in Asia. It'll also be by far the longest paternity leave offered in the world. The move is aimed at enticing parents in South Korea to have more kids and boost the country's birth rate, the world's lowest. • In September 2022, Australia introduced changes in the anti-discrimination and human rights legislation by way of the Respect@Work bill. Most significantly this bill creates a "Positive Duty" for employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and victimization in the workplace. • In Singapore, firms that significantly advance Singapore's key economic priorities have been allowed to temporarily hire more foreign workers than permitted by the prevailing quotas for their industry, under the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme. This is to ensure that such companies' efforts to keep Singapore competitive are not derailed by manpower shortages. Approved firms' quotas for foreign workers on either the S Pass or work permit will be expanded by up to 5% of their existing base workforce, capped at 50 additional workers, for two years at a time. This quota can be renewed. To ensure that Singaporean workers share in the progress M-SEP hopes to enable, a firm applying to tap M-SEP must commit to hire, or send for training, within two years the same number of locals as the additional hires it seeks – with limited exceptions for industry leaders who fill critical skill gaps and benefit their sectors. Strategic Update on APAC