Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Currently, under the Child Development and Co-Savings Act, working parents are eligible for up to six days of paid childcare leave a year. While I suspect that many parents find this insufficient, especially if they have multiple children – each with unique contingencies that could keep them out of school, I wish to speak about how there remains a symmetry between childcare and eldercare leave.
As our demographics evolve and ever more children find themselves providing care to elderly parents, they find that there is no equivalent support for them as they ferry their parents to and from medical and related care appointments. This is especially trying for those who are an only child of a single children living with their elderly parents, who generally default into the role of being the primary caregiver.
This has, unsurprisingly, resulted in caregiving employees facing depression and reduced quality of life as shown in a 2021 Duke-NUS study. And this is disproportionately borne by women, as revealed in a 2019 report published by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE).
While civil servants have two days of parental care leave, a benefit that half of the Service exercise and an average of taking both days, there is no equivalent entitlement for the private sector. Some employers have been willing to voluntarily offer such leave but the share is trifling at just 13%.
I propose an expansion of family care leave. This is an idea that has bipartisan support. Member Mr Louis Ng has tirelessly advocated for paid parent-care leave and as, if I heard correctly, Mr Desmond Choo just now; so has my former colleague Mr Leon Perera.
As a start, we can include two days of paid leave for the only child of aged parents as well as singles living with their elderly parents. While it may seem like an additional cost for businesses, the resulting improvement in economic security and well-being of these employees is more than likely to pay for itself in terms of elevated productivity and reduced turnover.
The Minister of State for Manpower (Ms Gan Siow Huang): Shaping stronger norms around flexible workplaces will complement our existing leave policies to better support working caregivers. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, Mr Desmond Choo and Ms Yeo Wan Ling have called for additional caregiver leave. However, FWAs are a more sustainable way to support caregivers than providing additional leave of one or two more days, which could negatively affect the employment of the very group that we are trying to help.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: For Minister of State Gan, would the Ministry be able to explain why childcare leave is a legal entitlement, but eldercare leave is not? Again, I am not speaking up against childcare leave, but is the Ministry implicitly sending some signal that childcare is privileged relative to elderly care?
Work from home arrangements, while an important complement to family care leave, should not be a substitute for those days where flexible work, as useful as it is, does not quite offer the same freedom as actual paid leave.
Ms Gan Siow Huang: First of all, the Government recognises that caregiving of parents is an important responsibility, especially with Singapore’s ageing population. We are committed to providing caregivers with the necessary support so that they can fulfil both their work and the caregiving responsibilities. I think we need to get this straight. And I am sure the House agrees with this position.
Even without any legislated mandatory requirement, many progressive employers have already stepped up to introduce caregiving-related leave provisions beyond what is currently mandated as part of the HR strategy to attract and retain talent. In 2022, about 59% of employers voluntarily provided additional paid caregiving leave, such as family care leave. More than 4,000 employers have also adopted the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs.
We know that in a survey, a recent one by NTUC, 85% of working caregivers indicated that FWAs were their most preferred mode of support compared to paid caregiving leave, which was favoured by 64% of caregivers. I think this is likely because FWAs are sustainable and provide flexibility in meeting diverse caregiving needs.
For instance, if a family member requires assistance with daily activities, such as medication and meals, FWAs will be more useful than leave in enabling caregivers to meet those needs. The Government has also strengthened other areas of support for caregivers of seniors, including those who have to juggle between work and caregiving roles.
Caregivers can tap on a range of care services, such as home and day care, to support the care and social needs of their elderly loved ones. There are also various respite care options in senior care centres and nursing homes to help caregivers look after their seniors for short periods of time, including over the weekends.
Ministry of Manpower
4 March 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2369
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 