SPF does not penalise officers who are pregnant: Police respond to viral post by former policewoman

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Wednesday (Jun 8) that it does not penalise officers who are pregnant and provides alternative work arrangements to ensure their well-being.

This comes after former policewoman and mother-of-four Reema Razif said in a widely circulated Facebook post on Tuesday that she had been told her performance grade was affected by her pregnancy.

“The SPF builds fair and progressive workplaces for our employees. Many of our female officers excel in their career, balancing work and family responsibilities,” it said.

“During Reema’s four pregnancies between 2016 and 2021, she was given light duty assignments that were primarily desk-bound. Reema was not asked to work while she was on paid maternity leave,” said SPF.

Ms Reema resigned on May 2 this year for “personal reasons”, said SPF.

"GAVE MY 100%"

In her post, Ms Reema said she was advised to take up some projects during her maternity leave, which she “could not resonate with”.

“It was my career, it was my life, for 11 years,” she said. “I truly gave my 100 per cent … Unfortunately it was and never will be enough.”

"Working throughout my pregnancies, lifting heavy equipments for my peers (Willingly), sacrificing meals because my work was my priority, getting into labour while at work for 2 out of 4 of my pregnancies, going to the hospital in my uniform, still did not suffice to see me as a 'performing' worker I guess," she wrote.

In their response, SPF said Ms Reema “received a performance grade similar to many of her colleagues in the Police Land Division, while she was in service”.

“The SPF takes a firm stance against workplace discrimination practices,” they said. “There are avenues for SPF officers to raise complaints on discriminatory workplace practices to their unit Commander, Police Headquarters (HQ) or the Ministry HQ, and such complaints are looked into seriously.”

In her post, Ms Reema also said that she was “condemned” after a photo that showed her pregnant and in uniform in front of a police vehicle went viral in a separate post.

"I was ... given strict instructions to decline any kind of further exposure,” she said.

The SPF said in its response that Ms Reema had written about her police work on her social media account in April 2020. They did not elaborate on the contents of the post.

“Existing Public Sector rules disallow officers from commenting on issues relating to their own agency or policies they are involved in, without prior authorisation,” they said.

“Reema was thus advised accordingly by her supervisor for not seeking clearance for her post, but she was not penalised for the incident.

"We thank Reema for her contributions to the SPF and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours."