Mar 3, 2004
Radical moves to help new mums
by Tan Tarn How
IN AN all-out drive to get more babies, the Government is considering giving women up to six months of paid maternity leave and possibly picking up the tab.
It could cost up to $200 million a year for two extra months of leave at full pay, and double that for four months.
This is one of the radical options a committee headed by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, is considering over the next five months before making its recommendations.
It forms part of a 'holistic and coherent approach' he is taking to jump-start the plummeting birth-rate, which hit a historic low last year with 36,000 babies born.
Besides longer maternity leave, the other three key strategies being studied are: financial support, infant and child care, and promoting a work-life balance by encouraging family-friendly practices in the workplace.
However, in the quest for up to 50,000 babies a year, longer maternity leave looks set to play a crucial role.
Mr Lim identified four issues that have to be resolved first. They are: whether it should be extended by eight or 16 weeks; made compulsory; on full or half pay or some other proportion; and whether the Government or companies should pay.
Now, mothers get eight weeks at full salary paid by employers for the first two children. For the third child, the Government pays, up to $20,000.
'Maternity leave is not a cheap option', said Mr Lim.
But the Government is willing to be the paymaster so as 'not to overburden employers' with new costs.
If the target of 50,000 babies a year is reached, another two months of leave will cost the Government a 'ball park' figure of about $160 million to $200 million a year, said Mr Lim, who is also the Second Finance Minister.
Coupled with other pro-baby measures, such as tax reliefs and rebates, an extra eight weeks would cost the Government about $400 million a year.
The amount is equivalent to the additional tax that the Government will collect following its decision last week not to cut personal income tax rates from 22 per cent to 20 per cent.
'All that will help pay for this,' he said.
Mr Lim will be meeting workers, unions and employers in the coming months for dialogues. The starting point for these discussions will revolve around what he called two 'anchor points'.
Option 1: another eight weeks of mandatory maternity leave at full pay from the Government.
Option 2: another 16 weeks, but not compulsory and at half-pay given by the Government.
Neither option may be chosen in the end, but something in between, he added.
However, employers at local firms interviewed yesterday want the Government to foot the bill for any extra leave.
Mr Albert Tan, a partner in a two-man law firm with five employees, warns that he might hesitate to employ a woman, and recruit just men and older women.
'As it is, with NSman obligations, I know some employers prefer hiring Malaysians,' he said.
Most mothers interviewed complained that bosses were unsympathetic. One, who is expecting a second child in October, said her boss - a mother herself - shot down all her suggestions, including working from home.
When she asked for a transfer, her boss snapped that with her 'family problems', no other departments would take her.
Acknowledging the complexity of the issue, Mr Lim said supervisors, co-workers and Singaporeans at large will have to buy into it.
He urged Singaporeans to send their ideas and views at www.feedback.gov.sg or call 1800-2585-812.
For the Government, he said it has to be mindful of the effects on the economy and strike a balance between keeping Singapore competitive and being pro-family.
'We have to be careful how we pitch ourselves.'
But the need for more babies is urgent.
'No matter how globalised we become, Singapore needs a core of citizens... not only to maintain the resilience of our economy and society, but also to preserve our identity as a nation based on Singaporean values,' said Mr Lim.
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