from the
straits times
CALDECOTT queen Zoe Tay's contract with MediaCorp has been
suspended.
Ms Tay, who is seven months pregnant, said that the company's new
policy is to suspend the contracts of actresses who are pregnant.
The contracts will be re-instated when they returned to work.
Chinese evening newspaper Shin Min Daily News reported that the
39-year-old actress feels troubled about the situation as she
currently has no income.
This was not the case in 2004 when Ms Tay was pregnant with her
first child.
During her first pregnancy, she hosted an infotainment programme
educating women on the dos-and-don'ts when having a baby.
Ms Tay's second child is due in October.
Another MediaCorp star, Huang Biren, who is also pregnant,
apparently can continue to work because she is being covered by an
old contract.
Now two months pregnant with her second child, Ms Huang, who has a
seven-year-old son, told Shin Min Daily news that she has not
suffered the same fate as Ms Tay and is "still getting her normal
salary."
"My current contract is an old one which I signed with MediaCorp
four years ago," she said. "It will expire next year after I have
given birth, which means I can continue to work even while I am
pregnant."
Ms Huang said she is among a small group of artistes who are still
on the old contract. Most of the others either renew or sign new
contracts which carry the clause that actresses who get pregnant
midway through their contacts will be dropped.
