WP MP Louis Chua: Parents are relieved at additional childcare leaves announced in NDR speech

SINGAPORE: In a Facebook post on Monday (Aug 24), one day after Prime Minister (PM) Wong’s National Day Rally speech, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (WP MP) Louis Chua noted that one of the support measures for families that had been announced was additional childcare leaves, which is an issue he had brought up in Parliament over a year ago.

“My phone buzzed quite a bit from the parents among us, after PM announced at the NDR that childcare leave was going to be increased. A sense of relief, it seems,” the Sengkang MP wrote. 

PM Wong had announced on Sunday that parents will get eight days off each for families with one child, 10 days’ leave for families with two children, and 12 days for families with three or more. 

“When you add it up, the increase is significant. Take a working couple with three primary school children. Today they receive 4 days of childcare leave. With these changes, they will receive 24 days. This will give parents more time and much greater flexibility to care for their children,” he said in his speech.

At present, parents with children aged six and younger are each given six days off every year, and only two days off if they have a child who is aged between seven and 12 years old.

Mr Chua, who, like the three other Sengkang MPs is a parent of young children, added that he had said in a speech in Parliament in November 2024 that the current childcare leave days “were barely enough to cover for school closure days (notwithstanding that yes if you add father + mother = 12 days…)” with no additional provisions for days when children actually get sick.

“I’m glad we’re moving away from the arguments that we need to strike a balance between supporting our parents and the impact on employers’ needs, given that it is, after all, a TFR crisis of our generation,” the MP added.

The Prime Minister had further announced that the government will cover the cost of all child-related leaves, up to the reimbursement limit of S$2,500 a week, in order to reduce the financial burden on employers.

“And with the government paying for the leave, let us be very clear – employers should be more supportive of employees who are parents. So I ask all employers to do your part: Support parents in your organisations and give them confidence to take the leave they are entitled to,” the Prime Minister said. /TISG

Read also: WP MP Louis Chua: National Day more than just parade, it’s about coming together as a community, neighbours checking in