Committee of Supply 2025 debate, Day 5: Hazel Poa on employer incentives

As many employers in Singapore need access to foreign manpower, this is a carrot the government can use to incentivise desired human resource policies and practices, said NCMP Hazel Poa in parliament on Thursday (Mar 6). She noted that as the government introduces new policies to suit new times, it cannot disregard the impact on other stakeholders. She cited the example of how employers had expressed concerns over the impact on their manpower when the additional 10 weeks of shared parental leave was announced. She wondered if this would inadvertently make employers even more reluctant to employ married women. Ms Poa suggested instead to align employers' interests to that of society. “For example, if employers know that an employee taking 30 days of parental leave would allow them to have access to an additional foreign personnel for 60 weeks, would this not make them more welcoming of their employees taking parental leave?” she stated. She added that raising the nation’s total fertility rate requires a whole-of-society approach and employers are a key component. “Let the arrival of babies be a cause of celebration for employers too,” she said.