More childcare leave, work flexibility among MPs’ suggestions to support Singapore families
Supporting Singaporeans in starting and raising families continues to be a top national priority, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah.
.jpg?itok=sgS1JuZI "More childcare leave, work flexibility among MPs’ suggestions to support Singapore families")
A file photo of a family in Singapore. (Photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: Members of Parliament from both sides of the aisle put forward a slew of suggestions during a motion on Wednesday (Feb 5) to support Singaporeans in starting and raising families.
Key proposals included increasing childcare leave, making childcare more affordable, improving work-life balance and making home ownership more accessible.
The motion was tabled by MPs Hany Soh (PAP-Marsiling-Yew Tee) and Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (PAP-Chua Chu Kang).
It stated: "This House calls for the continued review and updating of policies to better support families, as well as the marriage and parenthood aspirations of Singaporeans, and endorses a whole of society approach to build a Singapore Made for Families."
Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai sought to replace the phrase “continued review and updating of policies” with “reimagination”, but the amendment was ultimately voted down and the original motion passed.
Responding to Mr Leong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said that the government had already started the “reimagination process” in the form of Forward SG - an effort launched in 2022 to seek feedback on refreshing Singapore's social compact.
“The boat called ‘reimagination’ has already left port and is sailing,” she said. “To ask us in this amendment to start reimagination is kind of like a step back, it is kind of like going to the port whereas, the ship has already sailed.”
She stressed that supporting Singaporeans in starting and raising families remains a “top national priority”.
“Families are the building blocks of our society. They are our first line of support and a key pillar of our social compact,” she said.
INCREASED CHILDCARE LEAVE
MPs brought up suggestions previously raised in parliament, asking for parents get more childcare leave.
MP Louis Ng (PAP-Nee Soon) reiterated his call for childcare leave to be provided on a per-child basis, noting that the current provision of six days for parents with children up to seven years old is insufficient.
He cited a case where a parent had to use 10 days of leave to take care of a child who had contracted hand, foot and mouth disease.
“I should add that this parent has three children, he would not have any leave left if his two other children subsequently contracted HFMD, which does have an incubation period,” he said.
He also called for childcare leave to be extended to parents of children up to age 12, emphasising that primary school-aged children cannot care for themselves. Currently, parents of children aged seven to 12 receive two days of extended childcare leave a year.
Increase childcare leave and provide it on a per-child basis to all parents. Extend childcare leave for all kids up to the age of 12 instead of the current age of seven. MP Louis Ng called on the Government to make these changes, pointing out that it has been over a decade since childcare leave provisions were increased. He spoke in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 5).
Mr Zhulkarnain, a father of four, made a similar suggestion and proposed that parents with two or more children receive up to 10 days of childcare leave.
“This covers key milestones in our children’s lives like entrance to kindergarten, Primary 1 registration and PSLE, not to mention, other important events in their lives like medical appointments and birthdays,” he said.
Ms Indranee acknowledged the MPs' concerns but said any changes have to be balanced against employers' needs.
“Employers also need time to adjust to the new shared parental leave scheme, starting soon, which is more complex to administer,” she said.
She added that the government will continue to regularly review leave policies in consultation with parents and tripartite partners.
MAKING CHILDCARE MORE AFFORDABLE
Several MPs proposed measures to ease the financial burden of childcare.
MP Xie Yao Quan (PAP-Jurong) suggested raising the basic subsidy for full-day childcare by S$100 and reducing the minimum co-payment for median and lower-income households by the same amount.
“In this way, young parents across the board, whether higher or lower income, can benefit from S$100 less in full-day childcare fees every month,” he said.
Currently, Singaporean children enrolled in Early Childhood Development Agency childcare centres are eligible for a basic subsidy of up to S$600 a month for full-day infant care and up to S$300 a month for full-day childcare.
In his Mandarin speech, MP Gan Thiam Poh (PAP-Ang Mo Kio) referenced a survey by the National Population and Talent Division, which found that financial burden was the main reason married couples chose not to have children.
He called for comprehensive financial support throughout a child's development, including increased childcare subsidies.
Raising a child in Singapore is "not cheap at all" and the Government can do even more to help parents with the financial costs, said MP Xie Yao Quan. He offered four suggestions. Make full-day childcare more affordable and refresh the benchmark for affordability, defining it as a median-income family being able to cover full-day childcare from ages three to six at an anchor operator, using just the Child Development Account after maximum dollar-matching and grant from the Government. Give every school-going Singaporean child aged seven to 16 a “Child Development Bonus” of S$600 in cash each year. To pay for those two proposals in perpetuity, create a new S$10 billion Future Generations Package and Future Generations endowment fund. Make student care more affordable for low-income families. Mr Xie spoke in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 5).
Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling responded that the government's annual spending on the early childhood sector had doubled from S$1 billion in 2018 to over S$2 billion today.
Much of this funding, she said, was directed at expanding infant and childcare services and making them more affordable.
She noted that the government will further reduce childcare fee caps next year to ensure that families in anchor operator preschools pay similar rates to primary school and after-school student care, before means-tested subsidies.
PSP's Mr Leong proposed that the government pay a S$1,250 monthly allowance to one parent or grandparent who is the registered full-time caregiver of a Singaporean child from birth to age seven.
“This allowance is expected to be a game changer as it will provide real and effective support for full-time homemakers and caregivers,” he said.
Mr Gan also asked whether Singapore could adopt Sweden's approach of providing subsidies to grandparents who care for their grandchildren.
In response, Ms Indranee cautioned against monetising family relationships and making them "overly transactional”.
“It will be more meaningful for appreciation for grandparents to come from the children instead. But meanwhile, we do signal our support for the care provided by grandparents through the Grandparent Caregiver Relief for working mothers whose parents or grandparents care for their children aged 12 or below,” she said.
HOME OWNERSHIP SUPPORT
Mr Leong called for action to address rising housing costs.
He said PSP has proposed offering young Singaporeans quality rental options while waiting for a new flat and an Affordable Homes Scheme – lowering Build-to-Order flat prices by removing land costs for owner-occupied flats.
“We are confident that these two schemes, taken together, will reduce the cost of housing for Singaporeans and allow young Singaporeans to get their own home as quickly as possible once they are ready to set up a family,” said Mr Leong.
Ms Indranee said the PSP's Affordable Homes Scheme is similar to a prepaid rental scheme that would turn Singaporeans from home owners into tenants, and would be a raid on the reserves.
Singapore’s low total fertility rate is a result of the socio-economic circumstances created by the government policies, said NCMP Leong Mun Wai. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 5), he urged the government to “reset and reimagine” policies to create the conditions for Singaporeans to raise families. He proposed six ways to do so - ensure better job security and financial stability, slow down the increase in the cost of living, further defray the cost of prenatal gynaecological visits, childbirth and postpartum medical checks, strengthen workplace support for caregiving of children, recognise the contributions of homemakers and reduce the education pressure. Mr Leong stressed the need to urgently develop a national action plan and sought to amend the motion.
PSP secretary-general Hazel Poa said the long waiting time for an HDB flat is another “key impediment” to raising Singapore’s fertility rate.
“While the government has started building flats with shorter waiting time, or SWT, the number of such flats at 2,000 to (3,000) units per year is way too low,” she said, pointing out that there were more than 24,000 citizen marriages in 2023.
“We urge the government to more aggressively increase the supply of SWT flats,” she said.
To help reduce waiting time for flats, the government committed to launching 2,000 to 3,000 SWT flats every year, with 2,800 of such flats launched last year, said Ms Indranee.
“This year we aim to exceed our target with 3,800 such flats and we will continue to explore launching more SWT flats in coming years,” she added.
IMPROVING WORK-LIFE BALANCE
MPs also stressed the importance of flexible work arrangements and work-life balance.
MP Melvin Yong (PAP-Radin Mas) said he often hears from young couples and grassroots volunteers about the need for better work-life balance to support family-building.
He also pointed to the Ministry of Manpower's 2023 update to the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-being at Workplaces, which includes policies on after-hours work communication.
“I would like to ask how many employers today have adopted such ‘right to disconnect’ policies at their workplaces,” added Mr Yong, who is also the assistant secretary-general of NTUC.
“Employers play a key role in providing work-life balance. I urge all employers in Singapore to implement a ‘right to disconnect’ policy at the workplace.”
In response, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang said this had been debated before and that MPs had recognised that it would be “not so straightforward” to impose across all jobs.
Instead, companies should provide clarity on after-hours work communications, as recommended under tripartite guidelines.
“This includes understanding the need for proper rest outside of work and establishing clear and reasonable expectations for work-related communication after hours,” she said.
In his speech, MP Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang) noted that while employers must consider flexible work requests under the tripartite guidelines, the right to request such arrangements is not legally protected.
He expressed concern that the progress made in normalising flexible work arrangements is “quickly eroding away” and reiterated his call to enshrine the right into law.
Ms Gan said legal protections alone would not guarantee high adoption as employers can still reject requests based on business needs. Instead, she emphasised supporting companies such as through job redesign and HR training to make flexible work arrangements more sustainable.
