SINGAPORE: In Parliament earlier this week, Workers’ Party MP Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) spoke from his experience as a father of two young boys trying to raise a family in Singapore as he talked about the city-state’s historically low birth rate and how the government can support families better.
“We cannot expect incremental efforts to result in extraordinary results if we do not make a serious effort to reimagine our approach to tackling this issue,” Mr Chua said, calling for more drastic steps.
One of these steps has to do with flexible working arrangements. The MP cited studies that show that in the coming year, a continued decline in the number of people who utilize remote and hybrid work arrangements is expected, while more bosses are also expecting a full return to the office within the next three years.
Mr Chua expressed the concern that the progress that has been made in normalizing flexible work arrangements “is quickly eroding away,” which is why he called once again to enshrine into law the right to request such arrangements, as this would make it easier for parents to care their children while managing their work commitments.
If this is not possible, he asked if the number of a parent’s days of childcare leave can be increased or made on a per-child basis. He pointed out that the present number of childcare leaves is insufficient to cover the days preschools are closed, let alone the days when children are sick.
Mr Chua also asked the Members of Parliament to “take a moment to examine the lived realities of young Singaporean families.”
“The physical, emotional, and mental toll of a society where parents are hard at work is very real. Feeling like your job or future career is at risk if one chooses to prioritize caregiving in the early years of parenthood is very real,” he said, drawing attention to Singapore being a society that “places much higher emphasis on work over family.”
He pointed to a disconnect between the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Social Compact, which wants families to be a pillar of support, but in actuality, many parents do not have enough time or are empowered to prioritize childcare responsibilities.
“If we truly believe in a Singapore Made for Families, we need to expand and shift our frame from one that advocates for parents to outsource caregiving starting from as young as two months for infant care due to return to work demands, to a frame that champions parenthood.
We should be saying, ‘We want you to be proud of being a parent’ and how we can rethink flexibility at work in the critical first few years of a child growing up so that parents are able to dedicate more time to directly care for their children.” /TISG
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