Louis asked the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government will be reviewing childcare leave policies; (b) whether it will consider increasing the amount of extended childcare leave; and (c) whether it will consider pegging the amount of childcare leave to not only the age of the children but also the number of children one has.

Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister): The Government is strongly committed to supporting Singaporeans in their marriage and parenthood aspirations. Leave is one of the range of measures to support parenthood and like many other countries, Singapore has legislated leave provisions to support parents’ infant and child caregiving needs. These provisions have been progressively enhanced over the years to help parents better manage both their work and family commitments.

Childcare leave provisions were increased in 2008 from two days to six days per parent per year, for those with children below the age of seven. We extended these provisions further in 2013 so that parents with children aged seven to 12 can also enjoy two days of Government-paid childcare leave each year.

Parents with more children are able to enjoy the annual childcare leave entitlement of six days per parent for a longer period of time, until their youngest child has turned seven years old. They continue to enjoy two days of childcare leave per parent per year, until their youngest child is aged 13.

Beyond this, we have also enhanced our leave schemes to enable fathers to play an active role in raising their children. International studies have shown that children with more involved fathers have better physical, cognitive and emotional developmental outcomes. Greater paternal involvement in child-raising also helps mothers to stay active in the workforce.

In 2013, we introduced one week of legislated Government-paid Paternity Leave, as well as one week of Government-paid Shared Parental Leave, which allows fathers to share a week of their spouses’ Maternity Leave entitlement. This is in addition to unpaid infant-care leave of one week which both parents may take.

Last year we enhanced Government-paid Paternity Leave by an additional week, which employers may offer voluntarily. Taken together with infant-care and childcare leave provisions, fathers can enjoy up to five weeks of leave upon the birth of their child to bond with their new-borns and care for their wives².

In considering whether to provide parents with more leave to care for their children, we are mindful of the possible impact on businesses’ operational and manpower needs. In particular, given that childcare leave is provided for 12 years after birth, we are careful not to inadvertently affect parents’ employability. Further enhancements to these leave provisions have to be considered, balancing both the needs of parents and concerns of employers and employees.

This is why the second week of Government-paid Paternity Leave was introduced on a voluntary basis. The Government is now considering when to legislate the second week of Paternity Leave, with a view to providing a reasonable amount of time for businesses to make the necessary adjustments.

At the same time, some parents have provided feedback that they would like more flexibility for mothers to share their Maternity Leave entitlement with fathers, even as overall leave provisions remain unchanged. This would enable fathers to play a larger role in caring for their new-borns, and allow parents to decide flexibly how best to care for the child according to their family circumstances. We are considering this proposal carefully.

The Government will continue to encourage companies to do their part by providing a family-friendly work environment, including the provision of flexible work arrangements (FWAs). Such measures can also help employers to attract and retain talent. Employers can tap on the Work-Life Grant administered by Ministry of Manpower, under which eligible companies can receive up to $160,000 to help them defray the costs of developing, piloting and sustaining FWAs.

² The five weeks comprise paternity leave (two weeks), shared parental leave (one week), six days of paid childcare leave, and six days of unpaid infant-care leave.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following budget cut on Increasing Childcare Leave at Committee of Supply 2016.

Louis: Madam, taking care of your child in Singapore is no easy task, coupled with the fact that many households in Singapore are dual income to keep up with the cost of living. As such, taking time off work is considered a luxury by most working parents.

While the Government can encourage extended family closeness by giving out grants and building more 3-gen flats, it is definitely also important for immediate family members to spend time together and for parents to look after their child when they are sick or in need of help.

As the Government advocates working adults to have a better work life balance, will PMO consider increasing the amount of extended childcare leave and will it consider pegging the amount of extended childcare leave to not only the age of the child, but also the number of children one has?

Mrs Josephine Teo (The Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office): I am aware that even as parents-to-be cheer these leave enhancements, some businesses, including SMEs, with higher concentrations of male staff may have concerns, as Mr Thomas Chua and Mr Desmond Choo have highlighted. In fact, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises has also shared concerns with us. It is also out of concerns for businesses and the employability of parents that we assess Mr Louis Ng's suggestion for extended childcare leave, or to peg a parent's childcare leave entitlement to the number of children, to be impractical for now.

Louis: Sir, I appreciate that maybe now is not the time to review the extended childcare leave but I hope that in the near future, it will be reviewed. It is really from feedback of residents who have about three kids, because the current two days leave is really insufficient. And I will join Members and fellow fathers in this House to declare that I have also changed my fair share of nappies.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Government-Paid Adoption Leave (GPAL) can (i) be converted into shared leave which parents can allocate between themselves as they choose, instead of being open to mothers only and (ii) be extended to parents (both mothers and fathers) who adopt children above the age of 12 months old.

Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister): With the latest enhancements announced on 13 April 2016 which will take effect on 1 July 2017, adoptive fathers will enjoy the same leave provisions as biological fathers. What Mr Ng has proposed goes beyond what is provided for biological fathers.

The Government is strongly committed to supporting Singaporeans in their aspirations to get married and raise families. Leave has been one of the key measures to help working parents, including adoptive parents, better manage their work and family commitments.

Leave provisions have been progressively enhanced over the years, and several new enhancements will take effect this year, including allowing a portion of Government-Paid Adoption Leave to be converted to shared leave. Specifically, the enhancements are

(a) The second week of paternity leave has been made mandatory from 1 January 2017, which both biological and adoptive fathers are eligible for;
(b) Government-Paid Adoption Leave will be extended from four to 12 weeks from 1 July 2017; and
(c) Both adoptive and biological fathers will be able to share up to four weeks from their spouse’s Adoption or Maternity Leave respectively.

With these enhancements, adoptive fathers will enjoy the same leave provisions as biological fathers, and working parents (biological and adoptive) will have more flexibility to decide on the allocation of leave that best suits their caregiving needs.

Adoption Leave – like Maternity and Paternity Leave – is intended to support parents of infants in their first year after delivery, when infants are more vulnerable and need more care. Hence, usage of the leave is limited to the child’s first year of age. Beyond the child’s infancy, all working parents, including adoptive parents, can take six days of paid childcare leave each per year until the child turns seven years old, and two days each per year when their children are between the ages of seven and 12 years. In addition, parents are eligible for six days of unpaid infantcare leave per parent each year, during the child’s first two years.

Employers have provided feedback that even if the overall duration of leave provisions remains unchanged, extending their coverage (for example, beyond the first year of the child’s life), or allowing even more flexibility in sharing the leave between parents, could have an impact on manpower and administrative costs, especially in a time of business uncertainties. We need to balance between providing support for employees with caregiving needs, and employers' concerns on business costs and manpower constraints, as well as the employability of caregivers. Given the significant enhancements made recently, we will not be adjusting the Adoption Leave provisions further, at this point of time.

It will be more important and sustainable for employers to provide a family-friendly work environment, such as by having flexible work arrangements in place, and for our wider community to create a more family-friendly environment in Singapore. Employers can tap on various resources to implement flexible work arrangements, including the WorkPro Work-Life Grant from the Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Advisory on Flexible Work Arrangements published by the tripartite partners.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following speech on Extending Parental Leave for his adjourment motion.

Louis: Madam, last year I shared with this House that my wife and I were expecting twins. In that speech I said, "Just saying 'twins' makes me feel tired already."

My twins were born in February this year, 10 weeks early and honestly, the word "tired" does not even begin to describe our preterm-twins parenthood journey over the past five months.

It has been a tiring, exhausting, sleepless five months. My eye bags are now almost permanent and bigger than my eyes most of the time.

But at the same time, in between the crying, the screaming, the burping, the poo and pee, the nappy leaks and the vomits, the past five months have bought us so much happiness, smiles, love and made me appreciate things a lot more.

Madam, allow me to share this journey and how I hope our policies can change so that parents with preterm babies and/or birth of multiples can get more help, essentially for a start, more precious time with their babies.

Madam, I will also share the journey of many, many other parents with pre-term babies and/or birth of multiples who have shared their stories, often very painful stories with me in hope as well that our policies can and will change.

On 23 February, my wife called me telling me her water broke. I will never forget that call but honestly, the rest of that day was a complete blur. I did rush home, picked her up and rushed to the hospital. That evening, they performed an emergency caesarean and Katie and Poppy were born, 10 weeks premature.

I wanted to be in the operating theatre with my wife but the doctor did not allow it. He replied that "there will be a lot of doctors and nurses in there as they have to deliver twins and my twins might come out lifeless and will have to be resuscitated. It might be too traumatic for me to see this."

Waiting for them to come out of the operating theatre was one of the most excruciating waits of my life.

My twins were delivered successfully and spent about 10 weeks in hospital, at the SGH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and at the High Dependency Unit, also called the Special Care Nursery. It was a very difficult and painful 10 weeks. It was an absolute emotional roller coaster and it was physically draining.

We were at the hospital every day, watching them progress and then deteriorate, progress and deteriorate, progress and deteriorate.

It was painful watching them stop breathing, their heart rates plummet in front of my very eyes and at times their lips turning blue. Nothing can properly describe the feeling of watching your babies go through that repeatedly. It is an experience I wish no parent has to go through.

And my babies were not the smallest, the most premature there. There were babies at the NICU who weighed only 800 grams and I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of stress, pain and trauma their parents were going through.

This first chapter of the journey was also perhaps the most difficult as I did not take my paternity leave. I could not, as I wanted to save the precious two weeks for when Katie and Poppy came home.

Juggling between work and family was near impossible. Every time my phone rang my heart skipped a beat as it might be from the hospital with bad news. It was hard to concentrate on anything.

The dilemma I faced would be the same dilemma all fathers of preterm babies face.

Like Jeremy Chee, who also had pre-term twins. In his own words, "most of the time is spent shuttling between home and hospital and being a Uber milk delivery dad. By the time they were discharged, I had spent most, if not all of my paternity leave."

This was the same situation for Yeo See Yeong. He said, "taking care of a pre-term baby is already tough let alone pre-term multiples".

Mothers feel the same too. Pearlyn Ong, a mother of pre-term twins said, "As I had a C-sect, I really needed the help of my husband at home and to bring the twins to the polyclinic since I was recovering from my wound. However, he has no more leave left by the time both babies came home."

It was the same for Gina Tan, whose husband ran out of paternity leave while her premature twins were still in hospital.

And worse still for Agatha Kee who had one twin in hospital and one twin discharged. She had to take care of them in two different places. In her words, "It's mentally and physically straining".

Clearly, two weeks of paternity leave is insufficient for us fathers if our babies are in NICU that entire time.

And mothers face a similar dilemma. The 16 weeks of maternity leave is supposed to be to bond with your baby. This bonding is crucial. As stated by Mr Chan Chun Sing, then-Acting Minister for Social and Family Development in his closing speech for the Child Development Co-Savings Bill in 2013. He said, "Maternity leave caters to the time required for the mother to physically recuperate from child birth and nurse the infant before returning to work".

Further, by introducing two weeks of mandatory paternity leave from 2017, MSF had recognised the importance for fathers to have the "opportunity to actively bond with their children from the time they are born" as it is a "critical infant period".

Academic research indicates the same. The first few months with your baby are important few months.

But these 16 weeks of bonding is clearly reduced for parents of pre-term babies. Having spent so much time in NICU, I can tell you that proper bonding is almost impossible there.

Babies are often in incubators, making physical contact with them very difficult and holding the babies is also difficult as most have several tubes attached to them and there is of course the risk of passing an infection to the babies, which could be deadly.

My twins spent 10 weeks in hospital and it is little compared to others.

Cecilia Tan's premature son spent 101 days in KK Women and Children's Hospital before being discharged.

Stephenie Tan's premature daughter spent 103 days in KK Women and Children's Hospital. She had no choice but to return to work three weeks after her baby came home.

Eden Ang's premature daughter was in the hospital during her entire 16 weeks of maternity leave.

I cannot imagine having to go back to work when your baby is discharged after spending 16 weeks in hospital. I doubt anyone can function properly at work in any case. Worse still is going back to work when your baby is still in the hospital.

This was the case for Meiyan Carol who had premature twins. She said, "The twins are my first babies so after giving birth and seeing them with all the tubes and equipment really scared me and I couldn't stop worrying. Every day I will visit them in NICU for that few short hours, I couldn't help but break down several times."

One of her twins was discharged after three months, the other after seven months. She went back to work after taking her maternity leave and after her elder twin was discharged, she had no choice but to take two months of unpaid leave to take care of her.

And this is the case now for Ng Hui Wen whose premature daughter is currently warded in KK Women and Children's Hospital for over four months already. She took only two months of maternity leave, as she wanted to save the remaining two months to spend with her baby when she is discharged. In her words, "The daily visits to hospital has taken a toll on my mental and physical health".

And the time the baby spends in hospital is an important time for both fathers and mothers to be together rather than apart. The emotional stress is tremendous and both parents need to be there for their babies and for each other.

Magdaline Lee, a mother of a pre-term baby said, "I had to admit I had post natal depression when I saw my two-kg baby in NICU with tubes over him. The need to have a supporting husband during this period is crucial to the family. Having just two weeks of paternity leave wasn't enough for me, I needed to have someone to be there emotionally and mentally after going through an unexpected early delivery."

Perhaps the most heart-wrenching story shared with me was that by May Leo who had premature twins but one twin caught an infection in her womb and could not be saved. The other twin stayed in hospital for about four months. She said, "My husband and I, especially me, had to manage losing a baby and running to and from the hospital during my confinement to be with my baby boy during his critical days. It was very tiring and sad at the same time".

And it is important to be there for also the babies. Doing kangaroo care or skin-to-skin contact with the baby does help the baby grow better as well. Kangaroo care is commonly prescribed for pre-term and low birth weight babies. It has been found to have wide-ranging benefits for both infant and parents, including reducing infant mortality, increasing growth, raising likelihood and duration of breastfeeding, encouraging mother-infant bonding, and increasing parental satisfaction.

Madam, I am glad that some companies understand the difficulties faced by parents of pre-term babies. Lee-Ling Chow who has premature twins told me she was glad that her company allowed her to take no pay leave.

Similarly, Anitha Narayanan was allowed to take all her annual leave and one month of no pay leave.

Mdm Sue whose baby spent 174 days in hospital said, "Work during this period is practically impossible for me. I exhausted my four months of maternity leave and had to apply for another three months of unpaid leave to take care of my baby."

Rachel Lee's twins spent two months in the hospital before they came home. She said, "Luckily my boss has allowed me to take another three to four months of unpaid leave to look after the girls until they were bigger and more stable. But what about other moms who didn't have understanding superiors like mine? They could have lost their jobs."

And some do pay the price. Yongle had premature twins and took three months of hospitalisation leave and four months of maternity leave. She said, "I was lucky enough to keep my job but with pay freeze and 50% cut to my year-end bonuses."

I sincerely hope the Government can make sure parents of premature babies are not penalised. We have enough to worry about already.

For this first chapter of the journey, my recommendation is that we extend the parental leave for both fathers and mothers to at least cover the time the babies spends in NICU, if not the entire time the babies spent in both NICU and at the High Dependency Unit or Special Care Nursery.

Several countries such as Austria, Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Israel, Colombia, New Zealand and India already provide extended leave for mothers and/or fathers of pre-term babies. I sincerely hope we can consider this.

In New Zealand for example, paid parental leave is extended by the period between actual and expected birth, for up to 13 weeks. This leave can also be transferred to the father.

In Denmark, maternity leave is prolonged by the period the infant spends in the hospital for up to three months if the infant is hospitalised during the first 46 weeks of childbirth.

This change in policy while significant for parents of pre-term babies, really would not be a significant change for employers who might be worried about the manpower shortage or the Government in terms of the additional financial resources for the paid leave.

In 2015, out of 42,185 live births in Singapore, only 127 occurred at less than 28 weeks gestation, which is only 0.3%. Babies born before 37 weeks are considered pre-term but unfortunately, I could not find data on the number of births before 37 weeks in Singapore.

But it is usually babies who are born before 28 weeks who would require a longer stay at the hospital.

It is also clearly verifiable with doctors when a baby needs to be in hospital, especially NICU, so there need not be concerns about abusive applications for leave.

Madam, this first chapter could perhaps be summed up by one word "stress". The next chapter of the journey could perhaps be summed up by one word too, which is the word I started this speech with in the opening paragraph "tired".

On 22 April, Katie was discharged. On 1 May, Poppy was discharged. These two days were one of the happiest days of my life. We were overjoyed to bring Katie and Poppy home. We were overjoyed to finally see them without any tubes stuck into them. We were overjoyed to finally introduce Katie and Poppy to Ella, our eldest daughter. For 10 weeks, she could only see them through a glass window and she really wanted to carry them. She has been the best big sister.

This was also the time we realise that our two babies were in fact owls. They were full-fledged party owls and completely nocturnal and they partied through the night. And I rarely use the word sleep now as I cannot really remember what sleep is and what it feels like to sleep properly.

In the first few months, the twins need to be fed every two to three hours. It takes about 30 minutes to feed each baby. My wife takes about 30 minutes to express the breast milk.

After feeding, it takes about 10 minutes to wash and sterilise all the bottles and pumping equipment. Not forgetting that their nappies have to be changed before each feed and that takes about five minutes.

And it takes another five minutes to burp each baby. It might sound a bit gross but I now absolutely love the sound of burps. Hearing a burp means I can finally rest or sleep.

It means the end of a cycle. But the problem is the end of the cycle is pretty close to the start of the next cycle and if you can see where I am heading, sleep is a valuable commodity when you have twins.

The problem is not when the twins cry at the same time. In fact, I feel it is better that they do. It is worse when you finally calm one down and the other one starts crying. It does not end.

But I have responded to Minister Ong Ye Kung's call to continually upgrade my skills and I have evolved to meet the changing needs.

I have gone from feeding one twin at a time to feeding both at the same time, holding one milk bottle in each hand to last month, I mastered the art of feeding both twins at the same time with just one hand. I have a photo to prove this.

Just last week, I managed to feed one twin and burp the other twin at the same time. Now, I have to try and see if I can burp both of them at the same time. But I know my wife would be horrified if I tried it.

But this is the reality each day. Parents of multiple births have to deal with greater challenges than parents of single births. Multiple birth parents are more likely to have less sleep because their babies can have different sleep-wake rhythms and express their needs at different times.

Multiple birth parents have little chance to regain their strength and are more likely to remain tired for an extended period of time.

A study in the United Kingdom showed that only 8% of multiple birth mothers had more than six hours of sleep each night during the first month, while 46% slept less than three to four hours.

Parents of multiple births also have greater need for an extra pair of helping hands, such as from their partner, to help care for multiple babies at once. Thus, 93% of British multiple-birth mothers wished that their partners had extended paternity leave to help care for their babies.

Some studies also show that 20% of multiple-birth mothers had suffered from postnatal depression, versus 10% of single-birth mothers.

Beyond these, parents of pre-term babies and multiple births also have much more medical appointments. In the past few months, Poppy alone has had repeated medical appointments with the ophthalmologist, cardiologist, speech and language therapist, physiotherapist and neonatologist. A lot of time has been spent back at the hospital.

Again, as you can see from my eye bags, parents of twins need help. If you see my wife's eye bags, you know that we really, really need help.

My recommendation is that we extend the parental leave for both fathers and mothers with births of multiples.

Many countries already offer extended parental leave in cases of multiple births, some offering it since 1975. These countries include Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Israel, Turkey and closer to home China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Myanmar.

In France for example, maternity leave is extended by 18 weeks for twins, by 30 weeks for higher order multiple-birth. Paternity leave is extended by seven days.

In Myanmar, maternity leave is extended by four weeks for twin delivery.

Like pre-term babies, this change in policy will not have a big overall impact. Out of 42,185 live births in Singapore in 2015, there were only 1,249 twin births and 21 sets of triplets born. Only 3%.

Parents also cannot choose whether they have twins or triplets and so they cannot manipulate the system.

Madam, I sincerely hope that the government will consider my recommendations, study the positive examples in other countries, do public consultations and ultimately help provide parents of pre-term babies and/or births of multiples with a greater peace of mind and more precious time to bond with their babies.

I cannot end this speech without thanking the amazing doctors, nurses, therapists, cleaners and all the staff members at the delivery suite, NICU and High Dependency Unit at SGH and all the other hospitals. Thank you for saving the lives of Katie and Poppy and countless other babies they have cared for.

At times, it was surreal sitting at the NICU, doing kangaroo care with my baby, singing to her while watching the mayhem in NICU. Watching the staff handle a never-ending arrival of pre-term babies and a never-ending chorus of alarm bells as babies stop breathing. The staff members handle each situation so professionally, so meticulously and with so much tender loving care. From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all the other parents, thank you.

I also wanted to highlight the efforts of the Facebook group "SG Parents of Twins and Triplets" which has been the only form of communal support for parents with multiples.

And Madam through this journey, I also realised that I married Wonder Woman. My wife had an emergency caesarean at night and in the morning, she was up and about, going to see our twins already.

It is not easy expressing breast milk for one baby but my amazing wife has managed to express enough milk for two babies for five months now. She has also mastered the art of pumping breast milk while feeding both twins at the same time. I also have a photo to prove this but I know she will definitely kill me if I show it to you.

Madam, many people have shared their pre-term and/or birth of multiples journey with me and we all hope that through our sharing of our painful experiences, others will benefit from the changes in policies we are calling for.

We have all been through it and hope that future parents of preterm babies and/or births of multiples get the additional help they so desperately need.

Unfortunately, I definitely would not benefit from these changes, as my factory is closed. With three daughters, I am heavily outnumbered at home already and this factory is definitely permanently closed.

Let me end with a quote as always. This one I really love.

"Twins will make love stronger,

Days shorter, nights longer,

Bank account smaller,

Home happier,

Clothes shabbier,

The past forgotten and

The future worth living."

Thank you, Madam.

Mrs Josephine Teo (The Minister, Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Manpower): Mdm Speaker, first let me thank Mr Louis Ng for a very candid speech on his recent experience with the birth of his pre-term twins. He spoke from the heart and won us over with not just the strengths of his arguments but also the intensity of his conviction. And I think I can reasonably speak for everyone in the House that we are all very glad to hear that Katie and Poppy are back home from the hospital, and that the whole family is doing well, notwithstanding your lack of sleep.

I have a lot of sympathy for all the challenges that parents like Mr Ng go through, having had twins myself and also nieces who were born prematurely. Not everyone appreciates the unique challenges Mr Ng highlighted. After all, multiple births constitute just 3% of all children born in Singapore. In 2016, there were 561 sets of twins and eight sets of triplets. Likewise, the number of preterm births at 35 weeks or below is relatively low, about 4.5% of births. These numbers have remained stable over the past decade.

Although the numbers are not large, the impact on each family is significant; I think we heard from Mr Ng. For this reason, I agree fully with Mr Ng that there is scope to consider how we can better support parents with pre-term babies or who have to manage multiple births.

The Government is strongly committed to supporting Singaporeans in their marriage and parenthood journey. In fact, we have progressively enhanced support measures over the years, which include legislating new leave provisions. For example: Maternity Leave has been increased twice: in 2004, it went up from eight to 12 weeks; in 2008, from 12 to 16 weeks.

To support fathers in playing a more active role, Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave were introduced in 2013, and were enhanced just this year.

Fathers now have two weeks of Paternity Leave and can share up to four weeks of their wife's Maternity or Adoption Leave, as Shared Parental Leave.

Our parental leave provisions are also fully paid. In comparison, while some other countries provide longer periods of leave, much of the leave provisions are paid partially or not at all.

Even so, as Mr Ng has highlighted, parents may have greater care-giving needs when their infants are born prematurely, or if there are two or more babies at one go.

During the Committee of Supply debate this year, I had announced that the Public Sector will test the viability of longer parental leave for parents of infants, through a three- year pilot. Public sector officers can get an additional four weeks of unpaid leave when they have children below the age of one. This will give parents the option to take more leave if they need to. In total, couples with at least one spouse in the public service can have up to six months of leave between them. Depending on the outcome of the pilot when it ends in 2020, we will assess the possibility of a nation-wide rollout in future.

In the meantime, given the significant enhancements made to the parental leave provisions recently, we will need to give employers some time to adjust before considering further legislative changes.

While more leave could be useful for parents who have multiple or premature births, we have to be mindful that we do not inadvertently affect their employability if they are absent from work for an extended period of time. Employers have provided feedback that increasing leave provisions could have an impact on manpower and administrative costs, especially in a time of business uncertainties. For practical reasons, we will always need to balance between providing support for employees with care-giving needs, and employers' concerns.

Beyond parental leave, there are also other measures in the Marriage & Parenthood Package which support parents, including those with multiple or premature births. As Mr Ng noted, the Baby Bonus cash gift and Child Development Account co-savings are given on a per-child basis. All children receive the Medisave Grant for newborns of $4,000, and are covered under MediShield Life from birth, including for any congenital or neonatal conditions. These measures help to defray the costs of their children's healthcare and medical needs, and provide parents with greater peace of mind.

Parents have given the consistent feedback that while the parenthood support measures are helpful, they also need employers to provide a family-friendly work environment. I am glad to hear from the examples that Mr Ng cited, that many employers are indeed understanding and helpful. We encourage more employers and co-workers to show understanding towards parents who may have extenuating circumstances and require more time to care for their children after birth.

For example, private companies can join the Public Sector in taking the lead to provide additional unpaid leave to parents of infants. According to a survey by the Ministry of Manpower, in fact more than half, 54% of establishments in 2016 provided unpaid leave of more than one month for employees to attend to family or personal matters.

Another useful form of support is flexible work arrangements. Employers can tap on various resources to implement flexible work arrangements. The Work-Life Grant provides employers with funding of up to $160,000 each over four years to help employers defray the costs of implementing and sustaining flexible work arrangements. In addition, the tripartite partners are jointly developing a Tripartite Standard on Flexible Work Arrangements, which will help job- seekers and employees identify progressive employers with strong support for flexible work arrangements.

Mdm Speaker, our vision is to make Singapore a Great Place for Families. This requires not just policy measures but also the support of employers, co-workers and family members.

In conclusion, I thank Mr Louis Ng for highlighting the needs of parents who may need additional support and care. We hear you, we appreciate the extraordinary trials and tribulations that you go through and you have my personal assurance that we will study ways to better support your families, and we will seriously consider all of Mr Ng's suggestions. Thank you.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Ministry will consider allowing parents to use their paid sick leave entitlement to care for their sick children or allowing this at least for parents of premature, multiple births or babies with congenital illness.

Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister): The Government is strongly committed to supporting Singaporeans in their aspirations to get married and have children. We empathise with parents who face challenges in looking after children who require more care, and will look into ways to better support them.

Mr Ng has suggested allowing parents to tap on their own paid sick leave entitlement to care for their sick children. Paid sick leave allows an employee to access medical care and recuperate, while protecting his employment status and income during the period of illness. If sick leave is used to also care for children, parents might be caught in difficult situations when they themselves fall ill and have insufficient sick leave to recuperate.

In addition, from the employers' perspective, allowing one leave type to be used for another purpose amounts to increasing overall leave utilisation for selected employees. Therefore, apart from the impact on manpower and operational costs for employers, we should be mindful of the possible impact of such a proposal on the employability of employees with caregiving responsibilities.

Although the number of parents with preterm and multiple births or babies with congenital illnesses remains small, we will seriously consider how we can better support such parents with greater caregiving needs, in addition to existing parental leave provisions which have also been progressively enhanced. I made the same point in my reply to Mr Ng's Adjournment Motion last month on extending parental leave for parents with preterm babies and multiple births.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis: Unpaid leave for parents of multiples or pre-term babies. This means a lot. But can I ask whether there are plans to legislate this? I also have to add that after looking after twins for a year, there is no way we will have seven kids.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): Mr Louis Ng asked whether the unpaid leave for unplanned emergencies can be legislated. In fact, legislation is always an option. We legislated paternity leave. But as Mr Seah Kian Peng pointed out, even with legislation, the utilisation is only 46%. When you consider that South Korea legislates paternity leave, in fact, of a much longer duration than we have, the utilisation is, if I am not mistaken, just about 2%.

So, the real question is not whether we can or we cannot legislate, the real question is why, even with legislation, utilisation is not always 100%. I think that has got to do with the fact that at workplaces people do not always feel that they can use their entitlements. And that also has got to do with culture, whether there is a comfort that there will be no push back from the employers, that performance appraisal is not impacted, that co-workers are not unhappy because you go away. These things do not happen overnight. They take time to change. What we have attempted to do is, when there is a new leave type, perhaps we start with a tripartite standard first. Let the employers who are ready and willing, come on board, and then expand this group. Because what you really need to do is to promote a new culture. This culture of support is harder to try and bring about, but it is the right thing to do.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years, what is the absolute number and the percentage of (i) 7-year-old children and (ii) 12-year-old children who have contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) at least once during their life.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (MOH): Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is a common childhood illness that is usually mild. Most children recover from HFMD on their own without treatment. As HFMD infections are not reportable and the majority are mild, MOH does not track the number or percentage of children who have contracted HFMD at least once during their life. 

The key to controlling the spread of HFMD is to maintain high standards of personal and environmental hygiene, and to seek medical treatment early when the child is unwell. MOH works closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and People's Association (PA) to ensure that educational institutions, including childcare centres, remain vigilant and take measures to minimise the spread of infectious diseases. Parents should also ensure that their children with HFMD remain at home for the duration of the illness as advised by the doctors, to prevent spread to others.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Childcare Centres' Utilisation of Annual Closure Days for Each of Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years, what percentage of childcare centres utilise (i) the full six days of annual closure (ii) five days of annual closure and (iii) fewer than five days of annual closure respectively.

Mr Desmond Lee (MSF): Childcare centres are allowed to close for up to a maximum of six days each year to carry out organisational activities, such as curriculum planning and staff training. This also includes one day off for early childhood educators on Teachers' Day. Preschool operators take the opportunity to bring their staff together for skills upgrading on a range of topics, such as teaching methods and child management, updates on operational procedures for the safety and well-being of children, as well as team bonding activities.

In setting the guidelines on closure days for childcare centres, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) strives to balance parents' childcare needs and the operational needs of childcare centres. Centres are required to inform parents about closure days at the beginning of each calendar year, and remind parents one month prior to each closure day. This enables parents to make alternative care arrangements for their children.

From information provided by centres, the majority of centres utilise the full six days of closure annually. In 2018, 77% of centres who reported their closure days to ECDA¹ had utilised the full six days of annual closure. 94% of centres that reported to ECDA utilised five or more days of annual closure.

¹ In 2018, 85% (or about 1,300) of childcare centres reported their closure days to ECDA. From 2020 onwards, all childcare centres are required to inform ECDA and parents of their closure days at the beginning of each calendar year.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Statistics on Children Below Seven Years Old and Between Seven and 12 Years Old Contracting HFMD in the Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years among children (i) below 7 years old and (ii) between 7 and 12 years old (inclusive), what is the absolute number and the percentage of children who contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) (i) once (ii) twice or (iii) three or more times respectively.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (MOH): Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is a common childhood illness. Most children recover from HFMD on their own without treatment. As HFMD infections are not reportable and the majority are mild, the Ministry of Health (MOH) does not track the number or percentage of children who have contracted HFMD and the number of times they have contracted the disease during their life. As HFMD can be caused by different viruses, infection by one virus does not confer immunity to other viruses. As such, a person who has recovered from HFMD may be infected again. 

The key to controlling the spread of HFMD is to maintain high standards of personal and environmental hygiene, and to seek medical treatment early when the child is unwell. MOH works closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and People's Association (PA) to ensure that educational institutions, including childcare centres, remain vigilant and take measures to minimise the spread of infectious diseases. Parents should also ensure that their children with HFMD remain at home for the duration of the illness as advised by the doctors, to prevent spread to others.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Utilisation of Government-Paid Child Care Leave Scheme and Extended Child Care Leave Scheme in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years under the Government-Paid Child Care Leave (GPCL) Scheme (a) what percentage of working mothers took (i) four days of childcare leave (ii) five days of childcare leave or (iii) six days of childcare leave respectively; and (b) what percentage of working fathers took (i) four days of childcare leave (ii) five days of childcare leave or (iii) six days of childcare leave respectively.

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years under the Extended Child Care Leave (ECL) Scheme (a) what percentage of working mothers took exactly (i) one day of childcare leave or (ii) two days of childcare leave respectively; and (b) what percentage of working fathers took exactly (i) one day of childcare leave or (ii) two days of childcare leave respectively.

Mr Desmond Lee (MSF): Working parents with citizen children below seven years of age are provided with six days of paid child care leave. Employers absorb the cost for the first to third days, and the Government reimburses employers for the fourth to sixth days under the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) scheme. Utilisation of these Government-paid leaves has been slowly rising. The estimated percentages of eligible working mothers and fathers who took four, five and six days of GPCL respectively in the past three years are in Table 1 below.

Introduced in 2013, the Government-Paid ECL provides working parents with two days of paid extended childcare leave per year if they have a citizen child aged seven to 12 years. The estimated percentages of eligible working mothers and fathers who took one or two days of ECL respectively are in Table 2 below.

Breakdown of data on the take-up of GPCL and Extended Childcare Leave (ECL) is not available before 2016.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Rationale for Reduction in Childcare Leave When Child Turns Seven Years Old

Louis asked the Prime Minister what is the rationale for reducing the amount of childcare leave from six days to only two days when the child turns seven years old.

Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister): Under the Child Development Co-Savings Act, parents of Singaporean children are provided with six days of paid childcare leave per year until their child turns seven years old. Childcare leave provisions have been enhanced progressively over the years. In 2008, childcare leave provisions for parents with children aged below seven years old were raised from two to six days. In 2013, two days of childcare leave were also extended to parents with children aged seven to 12, recognising that parents with children in primary school would also need time to tend to their children's needs. More days of childcare leave are granted to parents of younger children in the earlier years of their development as they require relatively more care from parents, compared to children in primary school. 

We have taken a practical approach to calibrating the childcare leave provisions for parents with young children, balancing the caregiving needs of parents with the manpower and operational needs of employers. We will continue to study how to better support working parents, including partnering Singaporeans through the Citizens' Panel that will convene next month, to identify new ways to address work-life harmony issues.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Rationale for Not Providing Childcare Leave on Per Child Basis

Louis asked the Prime Minister what is the rationale for not providing childcare leave to parents on a per child basis.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): The Government is strongly committed to support Singaporeans in their parenthood journeys. To better support working parents, childcare leave provisions have been enhanced progressively over the years. Today, parents of Singaporean children are eligible for six days of childcare leave per year when their children are aged below seven years old. This was raised from two days in 2008. Since 2013, parents with children aged seven to 12 are eligible for two days of extended childcare leave per year. 

Childcare leave is given on a per parent basis today to balance between supporting parents in their care-giving responsibilities, and meeting employers' manpower needs. We need to take a practical approach on this matter. Employers are concerned that increasing these leave provisions could adversely impact their manpower costs and operations. Giving more childcare leave on a per child basis can also inadvertently affect the employment prospects of parents with more children. 

Beyond leave provisions, the Government encourages and provides support to companies to implement Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs), to develop a more family-friendly work culture. Employers may access the enhanced Work-Life Grant which has been raised to $100 million recently, and make use of the new job-sharing implementation guide to offer FWAs to employees. We have also launched two Tripartite Standards in 2018 to encourage companies to provide additional support for employees' personal or care-giving responsibilities, namely the Tripartite Standard on FWAs, and on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs. 

We regularly review leave policies and other workplace arrangements to better support parents to manage their work and family commitments. The Citizens' Panel on Work-Life Harmony was just formed for Singaporeans to partner the Government to develop new ways for society and workplaces to better support families in Singapore.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Clarification for Write-up on Taking Childcare Leave on Ministry of Manpower Website

Louis asked the Minister for Manpower with regard to the write-up on taking childcare leave on the Ministry's website, whether the Ministry will provide clearer definitions of (i) "matters that cannot be postponed" and to clarify whether child sickness falls under this category and (ii) "early notice" and to clarify the number of days or hours of notice that employees need to provide to their employers before taking childcare leave for matters that cannot be postponed.

Mrs Josephine Teo (MOM): Eligible working parents are entitled to paid childcare leave, provided for under the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA) and the Employment Act (EA). Childcare leave supports parents in caring for and spending time with their young children.

While parents are entitled to childcare leave, every leave application is subject to the employers' approval, which cannot be unreasonably withheld.

Early notice of the intention to take childcare leave provides lead-time for employers to make alternative arrangements to cover the work duties of the employee where necessary. On the other hand, it would not be practical to expect employees to be able to give advance notice of matters which cannot be foreseen and cannot be postponed for example, their child falling ill suddenly.

Some businesses operating on shifts may need a longer lead-time for employers to make alternative covering arrangements, while others may not need any lead-time at all. It would therefore not be helpful to prescribe, in terms of number of hours or days, what constitutes sufficient early notice. 

The vast majority of employers and employees have been able to work out mutually workable arrangements. As a last-resort safeguard, employees who think they have been unreasonably denied childcare leave, can report their cases to MOM. 

I thank the Member for highlighting the current information on childcare leave found in the MOM website. Presently, the write-up does not make a clear distinction between legislated childcare leave versus practical advice aimed to promote mutual trust and harmony between employees and employers. MOM will review the information to make the details of childcare leave clearer.          

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Uptake of Government-paid Child Care Leave Scheme by Working Parents in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years under the Government-Paid Child Care Leave (GPCL) Scheme (a) what is the number and percentage of working mothers with (i) one child (ii) two children or (iii) more than two children who have taken six days of childcare leave respectively; and (b) what is the number and percentage of working fathers with (i) one child (ii) two children or (iii) more than two children who took six days of childcare leave respectively.

Mr Desmond Lee (MSF): Currently, when employers submit claims for Government-Paid Child Care Leave (GPCL), we only check whether the employee has a child below seven years old. We do not request information on the number of children the employee has. As such, the information requested is not readily available.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Filing of Complaints with Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices for Denial of Access to Childcare Leave

Louis asked the Minister for Manpower under what circumstances can an employee file a case with the Ministry or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) for being denied access to childcare leave.

Mrs Josephine Teo (MOM): Childcare leave is a statutory entitlement. While childcare leave requests are subject to employers’ approval, employers should grant them unless they have good reasons for not doing so. 

Any employee who thinks that he or she has been unreasonably denied childcare leave should report the employer to MOM. Over the last five years, MOM has not received any case where an employee had applied for childcare leave and the employer had unreasonably rejected the application. If a report is filed, MOM will look at the specific circumstances of each case and determine if childcare leave has been unreasonably withheld.     

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Manpower based on cases brought to the Ministry or Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) (a) what are the top three reasons that employers give for denying employees access to childcare leave; (b) how many cases have been brought to TAFEP in each of the past five years for denial of childcare leave; and (c) in how many of these cases have the employees obtained the childcare leave sought or employers changed their childcare leave policies following TAFEP's intervention.

Mrs Josephine Teo (MOM): The vast majority of employers and employees have been able to work out mutually agreeable arrangements for the taking of childcare leave. 

In the past five years, MOM and TAFEP did not receive any case where an employee had applied for childcare leave and the employer had unreasonably rejected the application. During this period, MOM handled 15 cases where childcare leave was either not provided or under-provided in an employee’s contract. The main reason for employers not having fulfilled their statutory obligations was a lack of awareness of employees’ entitlements. In all 15 cases, MOM required the employers to rectify their childcare leave policies to comply with the law, and took enforcement action against them.   

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following speech at Debate on Annual Budget Statement 2020.

Louis: "Daddy, why don't I take the school bus so that you do not need to rush anymore?" Those words by my daughter Ella cut through my heart like a knife. My six-year-old daughter taught me an important lesson that morning when I was sending her to school last year, a very painful lesson. She made me realise that it was time to slow down and not rush all the time, especially in front of her, how my actions had made her feel bad and a reminder about how precious time is. 

"Spend time with those you love, one of these days you will either say I wish I had or I'm glad I did". I used this quote in this House a few years ago and I am sharing it again not just because it is a beautiful quote to live by but also as a timely reminder to myself and to all of us. 

I do enjoy sending Ella to school. I love singing all the Disney songs with her on the way to school, I love listening to her talk about her dreams, how she was at the ice palace and enchanted forest and met Elsa. I love listening to all the gossips and playground politics in her school and, my goodness, there is so much politics. But, most of all, I love just spending time with her, precious Daddy-Ella time. Time we can never get back. 

Sir, we gave out a lot in this year's Budget, helping our workers, enterprises, parents and their children, seniors and our environment. Many are appreciative of Budget 2020 but if there is one thing we did not give out, it is time. Time, which is priceless and time which our Government can give out. 

We need more precious time with our loved ones. We need more time with our children who desperately need us. I am glad we provide childcare leave, which "will provide sufficient time for working parents to care for and spend quality time with their children".

But it has been more than a decade since childcare leave provisions were increased and it is time to review this again. Are the current six days sufficient? We already know that the vast majority of childcare centres have six days of annual closure. This means that, for most parents, the entire six days of childcare leave could be used just for these annual closures. Let us not forget about the additional three half-day closures on the eve of any of the five stipulated public holidays. What happens when your child falls sick or for any other times when childcare leave is needed?

Sir, my first suggestion is that we have specific childcare sick leave. Applications for such leave must be supported by a medical certificate. This is much needed as parents should be there to look after their children when they are sick. Out of all the illnesses, including chicken pox, influenza, stomach flu and the list goes on, let me focus on the Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) as an example of why we need more childcare leave.

In Singapore, 90% of children have had HFMD infection by 12 years of age. This is something almost all parents face and we should help them. We must help. It is extremely difficult for parents to find help to look after their children as the infection can last for up to two weeks. It is also hard to find someone to look after your child as the care-giver has a good chance of being infected. I was infected by my children when they had HFMD.

From the employers' standpoint, do they really want their employee who may also be infected to come to the office and possibly spread the disease or any other illness to other employees, resulting in everyone going on medical leave? Also, do we honestly think that the employee can concentrate at work and be productive? Would they not be worrying about their child who is sick? How is this beneficial to the company? Having childcare sick leave will help the children, the parents and, ultimately, the employers. 

Sir, my second suggestion is that we provide this childcare sick leave on a per-child basis. Our current childcare leave does not make sense. Surely, we can all agree here that if you need six days of childcare leave for one child, you cannot also only need six days of childcare leave for two, three or four children. It may make sense if you can make sure all your children fall sick at the same time, which is not quite possible.

Sir, having childcare sick leave and having it on a per-child basis is not something foreign to this Government. The Public Service, one of the largest employers in Singapore, already gives some officers childcare sick leave and it is on a per-child basis. For example, officers with two children, one of whom is below age seven is eligible for four days of childcare leave per year with MC. An officer with three or more children, has nine days of childcare leave per year with MC. This is on top of the six days of childcare leave per year. 

The Government clearly feels that childcare leave is important for people who work for the Government, why then would it not be important for the people we serve? Let us level the playing field. 

 There may be an argument that giving more childcare leave can inadvertently affect the employment prospects of parents with more children. But this is not the case for the Public Service and, surely, this cannot be a reason for us to not do what is right for our people. Surely, the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices can be used to address this concern.

If we want Singaporeans to have kids and have more kids, then we need to give them more time to look after and be with their children. It is not just about making pre-school more affordable. That is important. But many I spoke to feel that if they are going to have kids but just leave them at childcare centres most of the time, then what is the point of having kids? We are trying hard to increase our TFR and beyond looking at the dollars and cents, we also need to look into providing parents with more time to spend with their children.  

The reply to my suggestions might be that we rather focus on flexible work arrangements. But this is not a zero-sum game. We can work on providing more flexible working arrangements for our people but also legislate more childcare leave. 

Sir, Deputy Speaker Charles Chong gave me one of the best advices just before the last General Elections. I used to help out at his Meet-the-People Session (MPS) and he always made sure I go home as early as possible once MPS ended. He said to me, "Louis, make sure you don’t go home one day and your daughter calls you uncle!". That advice is not just for me but for everyone and a timely reminder that while we work hard, we should also spend quality time with our loved ones. And it is not just about spending time with our children but also with our parents.  

Sir, I am glad that all civil servants are eligible for up to two days of parent-care leave per year and that a growing number of civil servants are using both days of leave. The Government has stated, "With a rapidly ageing population and smaller family units, officers with elderly parents will need time to take care of them. The new parent-care leave reflects our position as a family-friendly employer." 

It is encouraging that an increasing number of private companies are providing this. In 2018, 20% of private sector companies offered such leave benefits, up from 15% in 2012. But 20% is still really a small percentage.

Our parents are the reason we are here today. They worked hard to bring us up and looked after us when we were young. We should be there for them when they are aging and now need us to look after them.

Sir, I lost my Dad five years ago. On 11 May 2015, I was getting ready to go to work and I told my wife I was going to inform the ACRES team that I needed to take some time off to spend with my Dad who was in hospital. I was already visiting him every day but I decided I should spend more time with him. As I was about to leave my house, my sister called and told me that Daddy had lost consciousness. He passed away that day. I really wish I can turn back time. I made a mistake and I regret it till today. I wish I had spent more time with Daddy and I miss him dearly. 

Perhaps, through sharing this with everyone, this wound might finally heal and, through sharing, I hope that others will not make the same mistake I made. Spend time with those you love and remember that life is a one-way ticket.

Sir, this Government recognises that we need to spend time to look after our parents. It has been eight years since we introduced parent-care leave in the Civil Service and it is now time for everyone else to have this. It is time to legislate it. 

The Government's statement: "With a rapidly ageing population and smaller family units, officers with elderly parents will need time to take care of them", holds true for all of us and not just civil servants. If the Government feels that it is important for civil servants to have parent-care leave, then why not others? We are a family-friendly employer and now we should be a family-friendly Government. 

I understand that the tripartite partners have also encouraged more employers to adopt the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs, regardless of whether they already provide parent-care leave. But this is unpaid leave. Why do civil servants get paid parent-care leave and others have unpaid leave? Again, can we level this playing field?

I also understand that care-givers have given feedback that they prefer flexible work arrangements over parental leave as a more sustainable way to balance work and care-giving responsibilities. But the parent-care leave we provide to everyone can, again, be the same as those provided to civil servants where they have the flexibility to take this leave in full or half-day blocks. This will address the feedback we have received and, if we want to, we can take it a step further and offer parent-care leave in blocks of hours. It is, ultimately, a personal choice to take leave to spend time with those you love but this Government can help make things easier for employees and I hope we do so. 

Sir, the Prime Minister said a few months ago that, "We will always stand with workers (and) ensure your well-being. We will always do our best to help you and your children progress with Singapore and have a better life". Let us also stand with our workers when it comes to childcare leave and parent-care leave.

Time is the most precious commodity. I hope this Budget is not just about the economy but also about giving our people precious time to rest and to spend with their loved ones. 

In conclusion, I hope that we can (a) introduce a new childcare sick leave; (b) provide this childcare sick leave on a per-child basis; and (c) legislate the provision of parent-care leave.

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan once said, "Life is a one-way ticket. A baby will only remain a baby for a very short time. They will grow up before we even realise it. The thing about life is we cannot rewind time. So, my advice to young parents here is, your children need you, they need you desperately and they need you only for a very very transient time in their lives. If we miss it, we can never get it back."

Sir, I thought I should end by saying that I am still sending my daughter to school and picking her up. A few months ago, she made a card in school for me and gave it to me when I picked her up. This time, she melted my heart with her words. She said, "I love you, Daddy, because you always take me to school".

I am now a part-time school bus driver as I now have to send our twins, Katie and Poppy, to school as well. They, too, melt my heart with their words. I picked Poppy up the other day and she gave me a big hug and said, "Daddy, I really missed you". I look forward to more previous Daddy-Ella, Daddy-Katie and Daddy-Poppy time. I look forward to more hugs, more laughs and much more sweet words from them that give me that warm fuzzy feeling. 

Sir, let us give our people more precious time to spend with their loved ones. Thank you and I support this Budget.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following budget cut on Providing Childcare Sick Leave at Committee of Supply 2020.

Louis: It has been more than a decade since childcare leave provisions were increased and it is time to review this again. There is clearly insufficient childcare leave provided. Will PMO consider having specific childcare sick leave and providing this on a per child basis?  

The Public Service, already gives officers childcare sick leave and it is on a per child basis. If Government clearly feels that childcare sick leave is important for people who work for us, then why not important for the people we serve? Let us level that playing field. 

Louis: Thank you, Sir. I just wanted to ask Minister Josephine Teo about the childcare sick leave. I understand that we are reviewing it but I am just wondering we can also review and look into what other countries are doing. There is a long list of countries that are providing the childcare sick leave – I would not read the whole thing – there is Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland. It is a much longer list. In the interest, I would not read them all. But I am just wondering whether PMO can study what other countries are doing, see how successful it is, see how they implement it and then we can do a proper review. I think the Minister once said that all good things will be considered. This is a good thing that should be considered.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Mr Chairman, the short answer to Mr Ng is yes. We do actually study and we study them holistically too. The Marriage and Parenthood Support measures, they do work in concert with one another and they have to work within the context of each country. And I think in our case, what is even more relevant is to reach out to the young people themselves and ask them what is it that they are looking for. And they have been consistent in telling us: help us with housing, help us with pre-school, help us with healthcare, and very importantly, help us to achieve more flexible work arrangements.

So, we will look at all good suggestions in the context of what our young people want. 

Mrs Josephine Teo (The Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Home Affairs): The vast majority of employers and employees have been able to work out mutually agreeable arrangements for the taking of childcare leave. 

In the past five years, MOM and TAFEP did not receive any case where an employee had applied for childcare leave and the employer had unreasonably rejected the application. During this period, MOM handled 15 cases where childcare leave was either not provided or under-provided in an employee’s contract. The main reason for employers not having fulfilled their statutory obligations was a lack of awareness of employees’ entitlements. In all 15 cases, MOM required the employers to rectify their childcare leave policies to comply with the law, and took enforcement action against them.   

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

As part of his speech for Debate on Additional Support Measures in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic, Louis delivered the following:

Louis: My second point is about childcare leave. Parents working in essential services and key economic sectors perform a duty for our nation as they continue going into their workplaces in this time of global pandemic. However, there is a big, unanswered question of what happens when the children of these parents are required to stay at home due to COVID-related health symptoms, school closures, Leaves of Absences or Stay-Home Notices.

These parents do not have the option to work from home, yet they may have a young child at home during working hours. Some will be lucky enough to have alternative care-giving and caring employers. But what about those who do not?

We should remember that the legal entitlement of childcare leave is already insufficient during a regular year. As I mentioned in my speech on the Budget debate, parents exhaust it during mandatory pre-school closures and during their children's sickness. Now, in this most irregular year, school closures and stay-home requirements last for weeks. How can they possibly have enough childcare leave to take? The only option left for them is unpaid leave. Many parents have told me this is indeed what they are taking, but in this business climate, they worry they will lose their jobs if they take too much unpaid leave. 

To help such parents, I hope we can introduce a Government-paid childcare leave for parents who are working in essential services or key economic sectors and whose children are affected by COVID-related stay-home requirements. There are currently no protections for them, and we need to bear in mind that many have no alternatives and do not have the money to hire additional help. They desperately need this COVID-related childcare leave so they can keep their jobs and be there for their children.

Sir, we cannot leave it to employers and employees to work out amicable arrangements to balance the business needs with employees' childcare needs in this difficult time. In this difficult time, the Government has to step in. 

Louis: Second, could I ask whether we can introduce a COVID-19 related childcare leave, specifically only for those workers who are in the essential work and the key economic sectors?

Mr Heng Swee Keat (MOF): I thank Mr Louis Ng for your questions. You have asked four rather technical questions. And as I said, this Budget has been prepared in a record time. So, there will be details that the different Ministries will announce later and this will be sorted out by the different Ministries. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following budget cut on Childcare Sick Leave to Help Total Fertility Rate

Louis: Singapore’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is at a dismal 1.14 births. We have tackled this from a financial angle by various schemes to lower the cost of having children. However, in addition to financial constraints, time and stress are common concerns I hear from parents, especially those thinking about having a second child.

While some of us have the luxury of working from home, COVID-19 has also shown us the limits of this for certain groups of essential workers. For them, childcare sick leave is critical for juggling the demands of work and parenthood. I have spoken up about this previously.

It has been more than a decade since childcare leave provisions were increased. Will PMO consider having specific childcare sick leave and providing this on a per child basis?

The Public Service already gives officers childcare sick leave and it is on a per child basis. If the Government feels that childcare sick leave is important for the people who work for us, then why is it not important for the people we serve? Let us level this playing field.

Ms Indranee Rajah (The Minister, Prime Minister's Office): Mr Louis Ng asked if we could introduce additional leave for parents to care for sick children. Any leave enhancement, even if unpaid or temporary, could affect employers' operations and parents' employability, and must be reviewed with other requests for leave enhancements. It is more difficult to introduce such changes in the current challenging economic climate.

FWAs, on the other hand, are a pragmatic approach to meeting the needs of employers and workers. So, that is something that we can look at.

I agree that we need to lock in the gains of FWAs since the vast majority of employers now offer it. We are studying the effects of increased use of FWAs and how to keep such practices. Meanwhile, we urge employers to continue to offer FWAs to achieve better work-life harmony while at the same time, meeting business needs.

Louis: Thank you, Sir. I agree with the Minister that flexible work arrangement especially work-from-home is the way forward. But I think we need to remember that the essential workers cannot work from home.

So, could I ask, one, whether the Minister is aware of any studies in Singapore that show that by increasing childcare leave, it would decrease the employability of a person?

Two, could I ask whether PMO can study the usage of childcare sick leave amongst our public servants, and then use this study to decide on whether to extend it to everyone else?

Ms Indranee Rajah: Mr Chairman, on the first question, I do not have information on specific study with me at hand but I can look that up and we will liaise with the Member separately.

On the second, I believe the Member had a suggestion. I am always happy to entertain suggestions from the hon Member Mr Louis Ng and we will look at it.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Take-up Rate of Childcare Sick Leave by Public Servants in Each of Past Five Years

Louis asked the Prime Minister for each year in the past five years what is the take-up rate of childcare sick leave by public servants.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): In the past five years, about half of the eligible officers in the Civil Service took up Childcare Leave that was supported by a Medical Certificate. The take-up rate for the five years from 2016 to 2020 was about 50% in each year.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Evidence that Increasing Childcare Leave Entitlement Will Lead to Decrease in Employability

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether there are any specific studies conducted in Singapore that show that increasing a person’s childcare leave entitlement will lead to a decrease in their employability

Ms Indranee Rajah (for the Prime Minister): The Government has enhanced childcare leave provisions over the years to provide more support to working parents. In 2008, we increased Childcare Leave from two to six days per year for parents with children aged below seven years of age. In 2013, we introduced two days of Extended Childcare Leave per year for parents with children aged 7 to 12. Parents continue to receive their pay when they take childcare leave, with the Government reimbursing employers for three out of six days of Childcare Leave¹ and all of the Extended Childcare Leave.

Many factors affect the employability of working parents, and it would be challenging to isolate childcare leave as the only variable. It is especially challenging to prospectively assess the impact of future childcare leave enhancements on the employability of parents. Nonetheless, feedback we have received through consultations with the tripartite partners suggests that we need to be cautious about the potential impact of enhancing leave schemes. Employers have expressed concerns that more mandatory leave provisions will affect business costs and operations, and reduce the employability of those workers who are more likely to use these leave provisions. Therefore, we must carefully examine the impact on parents and employers, when considering whether to enhance legislated parental leave schemes.

Beyond legislation, it is important for employers to provide a work environment that helps all employees to manage their work and family responsibilities. In the past year, 93% of employers have provided some form of flexible work arrangement (FWA). Working from home during the pandemic has helped workers meet both their work and family needs, and enabled more employers to recognise that FWAs are workable. During public consultations by the Ministry of Health on support for caregivers of seniors, caregivers have also indicated that FWAs were more sustainable than leave provisions in helping them meet their work and caregiving commitments.

The Government, together with unions and employers, introduced a Tripartite Standard on Flexible Work Arrangements in 2017, and a Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs in 2018, to establish good practices that all employers should implement to support their employees’ personal or caregiving responsibilities. As employers and employees become more accustomed to FWAs, the tripartite partners will look into ways to further entrench FWAs in our workplaces, to better support all employees, including working parents with caregiving responsibilities.

¹ Employers are responsible for the first three days of leave, while the Government reimburses employers for the fourth to sixth day of leave taken.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider increasing the minimum amount of annual leave entitlement.

Dr Koh Poh Koon (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, annual leave should be viewed in context alongside other entitlements that similarly support employees in balancing work and personal needs. These include paid public holidays, sick leave, childcare leave, maternity leave and paternity leave. There has also been a significant push to support the adoption of work-life initiatives and flexible work arrangements, such as through the Tripartite Standards on Work-Life Harmony and Flexible Work Arrangements.

Any increase in annual leave entitlements entails business costs and must be carefully considered in a tripartite manner. This enables us to take into account business needs and ensure employees' employability.

Bearing in mind the current economic conditions and the existing suite of other leave entitlements, there are currently no plans to review minimum annual leave entitlements. However, MOM and our tripartite partners will continue to monitor the labour market situation and the needs of our workforce. 

Louis: Thank you, Sir. I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. I think we have one of the lowest minimum number of annual leave entitlements in the world. In this region, there is a whole list of countries – Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Laos, Indonesia – that actually provide a higher number of minimum days of annual leave and they provide a higher number of public holidays as well.

So, I really hope MOM can review this and study whether we can provide a higher number of minimum days of annual leave, also because I do believe that it is probably our lowest income workers who get these seven days. Those are the workers that do the most backbreaking work that will need the rest. If we do not increase it, it is likely that they just have the seven days.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, statutorily, annual leave entitlements vary across developed economies. Some, like the UK and Australia, have relatively more generous provisions while the US does not have a federal law regulating paid annual leave. 

The minimum statutory annual leave entitlement in Singapore is comparable to that in jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. Singapore's statutory annual leave entitlements should also, as I have said before, be viewed alongside other paid leave entitlements that are already provided for in our laws. Employees can use these other forms of leave over and above their annual leave entitlements. In fact, in many other jurisdictions, such leave may not be available or fully paid at all.

So, I think it is a balance of different types of leave to cater to different needs and, as I have said in my main reply, MOM and our tripartite partners will continue to look at the evolving needs and adjust our legal requirements accordingly.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what percentage of working parents use both days of extended childcare leave; and (b) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Since 2013, working parents have been entitled to two days of paid Extended Childcare Leave (ECL) per year if their youngest citizen child is aged seven to 12 years. The percentage of eligible working mothers and fathers who took two days of ECL from 2016 to 2019 are in Table 1 below. Data for 2020 is not available as not all the claims have been submitted – parents can consume ECL within a 12-month period and employers have three months afterwards to submit the claims. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider extending the current childcare leave entitlement to those with children between seven and 12 years old (inclusive) in light for the increase home-based learning.

Ms Indranee Rajah (for the Prime Minister): We fully empathise with the challenges faced by working parents when schools shift to home-based learning (HBL) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working parents with children aged seven to 12 years old can each take two days of paid Extended Childcare Leave, in addition to their annual leave entitlements.

Primary schools and student care centres also remain open during HBL days, to care for students whose parents are unable to secure alternative care arrangements.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also developed a set of practical tips as part of the "Parent Kits" accessible on MOE’s website, to help parents in supporting their child’s HBL.

It would be difficult to extend childcare leave to cover all HBL days. Currently, HBL for primary schools is implemented to curb the transmission of COVID-19. Given that the number of HBL days required depends largely on the national COVID-19 situation, extending childcare leave to cover all these days would not be feasible. As explained in my earlier replies to Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Louis Ng’s previous parliamentary questions on childcare leave, we need to take a practical approach to calibrating leave provisions, to avoid affecting parents’ employability. At the same time, extending childcare leave by anything less would not address the underlying concern, which is the parents’ ability to be present at home to care for the child during HBL.

A more sustainable solution would be to increase the adoption of flexible work arrangements to enable employees to better manage both work and family commitments. The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to shape and promote family-friendly workplace and social norms.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Education for each year in the past 10 years (a) what is the median number of days a Primary school is closed outside of the school holidays; and (b) what is the median number of days a Primary school ends earlier than the regular dismissal time outside of the school holidays.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): MOE consciously ensures that we minimise loss of curriculum time and minimise inconvenience for parents without alternative caregiving arrangements. Aside from 12 weeks of school holidays per year, primary school students are notified in advance and do not report to school for another 12 days for PSLE marking, PSLE Oral and Listening Comprehension Examinations, school exam results processing and significant school events such as parent-teachers conference.  

Schools may dismiss students earlier on the eve of events such as National Day and Children’s Day. There are four such events in a year.

For all these days, school-based student care centres remain open for students.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister (a) whether there are any updates on the rationale for reducing the amount of childcare leave from six days to two days when a child turns seven years old; and (b) whether the Government is reviewing this especially for working parents who are essential or frontline workers and are unable to work from home. 

Ms Indranee Rajah (for the Prime Minister): We recognise that parents need continued support to care for their children even after they turn seven years old. This is why we had extended childcare leave provisions in 2013 to provide two days of childcare leave per parent per year, for parents with children aged seven to 12 years. Those with children aged below seven years continue to have six days of childcare leave per year, as children of a younger age require relatively more care from parents. These childcare leave provisions are in addition to their annual leave entitlements.

We take a practical approach in supporting working parents’ caregiving needs, balancing these with the manpower and operational needs of employers, to avoid affecting parents’ employability. As mentioned in my earlier replies to Mr Louis Ng’s parliamentary questions on childcare leave, a more sustainable approach would be for employers to adopt progressive workplace practices, such as Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs), to better support parents. Other than working from home, FWAs also include flexi-time and flexi-load, which could help parents with their caregiving responsibilities. For example, although frontline workers often have to be physically present in their workplaces, employers can stagger the start and end times of their shifts, or enable shifts to be shared by multiple workers. We will continue to work with stakeholders to promote family-friendly workplace practices, so that employees can better manage their work and family commitments.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered his budget cut on Provide All Parents with Childcare Sick Leave at Committee of Supply 2022 as follow:

Louis: I know I sound like a broken record as here I am again asking for the Government to provide childcare sick leave. Why? Working parents need this, especially during this pandemic. Our frontline and essential workers and those who cannot work from home need this, especially during this pandemic.

The Government does not disagree with me when it comes to childcare sick leave. The public service already gives officers childcare sick leave and it is on a per child basis. Civil servants are using this childcare sick leave. If the Government feels that childcare sick leave is important for the people who work for us, then why is it not important for the people we serve? Let us level that playing field.

Let us also not use flexible work arrangements to justify not providing childcare sick leave. If this reason is true, then why do civil servants who have flexible work arrangements also have childcare sick leave?

Will the Government consider providing childcare sick leave for all working parents on a per child basis? I have raised this issue many times and I hope the reply would not be the same again. 

Ms Indranee Rajah (The Minister, Prime Minister's Office): The Government is currently reviewing our measures to improve the M&P journey. Mr Louis Ng suggested incentivising employers to increase usage of paternity leave, particularly among lower-income workers and providing childcare sick leave for all working parents. 

I fully agree that parents need more flexibility and time away from work to care for their children. Our research on the experiences of fathers' use of paternity leave shows that across different types of jobs and companies, a key factor affecting the level of utilisation is workplace support. This includes whether supervisors are supportive of fathers taking leave and whether colleagues are willing to cover their duties.

In some labour-intensive jobs, employers may be less willing to let fathers go on extended leave due to the challenge of finding covering arrangements. In such situations, employers could exercise more flexibility in fathers' utilisation of paternity leave, such as taking the leave in more than one period within their child's first year, to minimise disruptions to business operations.

We will consider Mr Ng's feedback, continue to review the scope for more parental leave provisions and work with employers to encourage their utilisation.

However, supporting the caregiving needs of parents must be balanced with the manpower and operational needs of employers, particularly our Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), some of whom may still be grappling with the effects of the pandemic. Instead of legislating more childcare leave, the Government aims to lead by example and encourage employers to follow suit by exercising more flexibility and extending childcare leave where possible.

This brings me to my broader point. To address the pressure of managing work and parenting commitments, we have to go beyond Government policies. We need to come together as a whole of society to build a more family-friendly Singapore for a more sustainable approach.

Louis: Thank you, Sir. I thank Minister for the response and I am glad it is a different reply. But can I just focus my clarification on low-income parents who very often cannot work-from-home or they have different kinds of FWAs. I agree with Minister, I hope that employers can be more supportive, but I think we know from the NUS study, this is not happening on the ground. So, could I ask the Government specifically for low-income parents, what are we doing to help them to have some time off when their child is sick or at least when their child is born? 

Ms Indranee Rajah: I thank the Member for his clarification, I would not want him to think I was giving him the same old answer every time.

As far as low-income workers and employees are concerned, they too, are on our radar. They are parents, just like others, and we would want to make sure that they have sufficient time to look after their children. So, let us study this together with MOM. Whatever we do must be something that is practical and feasible, given the nature of their work. Because very often they do have to be there, physically present. And then the question is whether or not the employer has got other people to cover for them if they take time off.

So, I think what the Member can take away today is that they are on our radar, and just like any other parent, we would want them to have sufficient time with their children. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)