NCMP Hazel Poa spoke in Parliament on 13 November 2024 in support of the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill. She believed that these measures, though unlikely to immediately impact Singapore’s low fertility rate, will foster stronger family bonds and encourage parental involvement, which benefits child development and maternal health. Hazel also called on the government to address other factors affecting family planning, such as the high cost of living and job security, to further support Singaporeans in starting families.
Mr Speaker, Sir,
PSP supports the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill.
This Bill seeks to amend the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA) for several purposes, including providing for new shared parental leave, doubling the total period of paid paternity leave to 4 weeks, and introducing protection for fathers against a notice of dismissal during paid paternity leave.
These changes had been announced during the National Day Rally. In my response to the National Day Rally, I had stated that PSP supported these changes to uplift Singapore’s low Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which fell to 0.97 in 2023[1]. Although more parental leave alone might not necessarily have an immediate significant effect on our TFR, we believe it will create a positive effect as it gives potential parents the peace of mind to take time off work to build secure and strong relationships with their newborn children, setting an important foundation for the long journey ahead.
We support the amendments to increase mandatory paid paternity leave and introduce protection for fathers against a notice of dismissal during paid paternity leave, which is similar to the current protection mothers have during paid maternity leave. These amendments send an important message that both parents are co-partners in a marriage and in starting a new family, and provide the crucial opportunity for both parents to be physically present to take on child-minding responsibilities.
Research has uncovered evidence pointing to the crucial role played by fathers in affecting not just newborn health and the subsequent development of a child, but also maternal health postpartum and beyond[2]. A father who is involved from the very start in the caring of a child provides important support to the mother, especially during the immediate postpartum period when mothers face the risk of postpartum depression. A mother who is both mentally and physically healthy is in turn better able to provide optimum care for the child. Indeed, a longitudinal study conducted in Singapore found that fathers who were involved in their infant’s birth were more actively involved in infant care at 6 months postpartum, highlighting how active participation from the start carries forward to later periods in the child’s life[3]. Fathers also play a unique and critical role in the different stages of childhood development, affecting the socioemotional and cognitive development of their children[4]. It is therefore heartening to see that the Government is implementing policy changes to help fathers fulfil their important role in parenting.
Besides the duration of paid parental leave, we believe that there are many other factors at play which affect the ability and willingness of Singaporeans to have children. In our view, these other factors include the cost of living, especially the cost of housing, healthcare and education, as well as employment policies that have an impact on job security, the rates of unemployment and underemployment. In this regard, PSP strongly supports the introduction through this Bill of protection for fathers against a notice of dismissal during paid paternity leave, which is similar to the current protection mothers have during paid maternity leave. As our cost of living continues to rise, job security is ever more important, especially to a couple who is contemplating on starting a new family and having children.
In totality, moving towards more parental leave and the gradual equalisation of maternity and paternity leave are both beneficial to building stronger marriages and families, and PSP appreciates the Government’s efforts thus far to work with tripartite partners to establish the norm of fathers taking leave to care for and bond with their infants[5]. We also believe that it is important for the Government to address the high cost of living in Singapore and consider employer incentives to create a more conducive work culture, as these also affect the ability and willingness of Singaporeans to start a family and have children.
Mr Speaker, Mandarin please.
议长先生，
前进党支持这项修正法案，为在职父亲提供四周的法定陪产假，以及设置新的父母共用产假机制。有研究显示，父亲不仅对新生儿的健康和儿童后续发展有很大的影响，对母亲的产后健康也很重要。前进党因此支持政府实施这些政策改变，方便所有的父亲发挥他们在育儿过程中的重要作用。
低生育率的问题已经困扰我国多年，前进党认为，除了带薪产假的期限外，还有许多因素影响国人生儿育女的能力和意愿。这包括了住家、医疗和教育等等的生活成本，以及工作保障和就业环境。
我们认为，若我国想进一步提高国人生育孩子的意愿，政府必须解决生活费高昂的问题，并考虑采取措施，鼓励雇主为员工打造更有利于生育的工作文化。
Mr Speaker, PSP supports the Bill.
[1] https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/population/ssn124-pg1-6.ashx#:~:text=Singapore’s%20resident%20total%20fertility%20rate1,having%20fewer%20than%20one%20child.
[2] https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2024/04/0424-CHILD_Evidence-Insight-Role-of-Fathers_FAdigital_V2.pdf
[3]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327625650_Factors_influencing_paternal_involvement_during_infancy_A_prospective_longitudinal_study
[4] Ibid.
[5] https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/government-will-not-bring-forward-start-date-of-shared-parental-leave-indranee
