Singapore introduces pro-family incentives to encourage more births and family togetherness

Producer: Yvonne Gomez
First broadcast: 25 August 04, Radio Singapore International

The Singapore government gave details today, of the pro-baby package highlighted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last Sunday.

The measures are aimed at addressing Singapore’s falling birth rate and strengthening the family unit. They touch on reducing childcare costs, as well as providing more time for parents to bond with their children.

How will the incentives actually resolve these issues?

A question Yvonne Gomez posed to Associate Professor Paulin Straughan from the National University of Singapore.

PS: I think that the incentives are very holistic and they cover quite a few areas and this is certainly good news for young parents. It is also the way it was delivered that made it very impressive, because the Prime Minister clearly appreciates the importance of intrinsic values and ideologies. The point that we want people to have children only if they want to love the children and to want to have children for the children’s sake, and not because there are financial gains from having kids. So all that said, I think that perhaps the two incentives that stood out most for me, first, was the five-day work week, because this will facilitate family time and it certainly has positioned family life to the centre. By moving to a five-day work week, the government has repositioned the family back to the centre of things. The message is very clear – family time is important. We are behind you on that. If you look between the lines, it really appreciates that childcare is not the responsibility that goes away after the maternity leave is over. So the inclusion of childcare leave that’s extended to two day’s per year until the child is seven, to do whatever you want with your child. He or she doesn’t have to be sick. You can do whatever you want with your child. If you’re able to take leave for that, I think that’s really very refreshing, and it really encourages bonding. The appreciation that dual income parents struggle to make ends meet, because childcare is expensive and there is a gap at home, particularly when the mother is also involved in full-time work. Therefore, the move to lower the maid levy was also very welcome and very refreshing. So all in all, I think the announcements have uplifted most of us who have been following fertility issues in Singapore. We’re hopeful for the near future.

Getting to specifics, you mentioned intrinsic values and the lowered maid levy. So parents now have a choice, because there is now, the new infant care subsidy, or parents can choose to have a maid to look after their children. Your thoughts on this?

PS: Well, I think that as parents, all of us appreciate the fact that the best care-giver for our children is ourselves. The second, is probably our parents, if they’re able and healthy. Unfortunately, because of the demands of the cost of living, and also because many of us have been educated, and therefore we want to participate in paid work for various reasons, there is a gap in childcare needs. We know that the foreign domestic maid is not the ideal alternative – far from it. Nonetheless, at least in the short-term and until something more stable comes along, many of us have to depend on having a foreign domestic worker at home. So the lowered levy will certainly help, in that sense.

How will the extended maternity leave, extra childcare leave and even the five-day week for civil servants, affect our work ethic and productivity, and then impact our economy?

PS: I’m going to be optimistic about this, because I think it’s easy to always nitpick and say, why not a little bit more. I think we should not forget that this is a big step forward, in terms of immediate gains. I think all of us will appreciate a five-day work week. In terms of immediate gains, those who are having babies in the near future will benefit from the baby bonuses. In terms of immediate gains, our young mothers and mothers-to-be will be able to enjoy 4 additional weeks to stay home, bond with the baby, take care of themselves and so forth. I think that the larger gain is the re-positioning, really, of family work. Now, the state has thrown itself firmly behind family work. It’s almost like saying parenthood and family are second to none. It is as equal as paid work and we recognize that. So in terms of ideology, it really shifts the position of the family to a more central focus, especially when the economy is not doing well. Family needs are pushed to the back, because bread-and-butter issues will always stand out more than anything else. So now, the family has been jostled back into a central position. It’s now cool to talk about family time, it’s cool to talk about quality time with your children, and it’s cool to have kids.