From TODAY, News
Tuesday September 2, 2008
DISCRIMINATION FEARS
Bosses can help educate staff; mums can be flexible with long leave
Alicia Wong
alicia@mediacorp.com.sg
SHE MAY have been eight months pregnant, but that didn’t stop UBS Singapore from hiring her.
Ms Rachel Lin started work as a corporate communications director two weeks before going on her 15-week maternity leave — what UBS employees enjoyed instead of the statutory 12 weeks back then. Mothers can also claim up to $3,000 for maternity-related expenses, and are protected by a UBS insurance plan in the event of birth complications.
Proving family-friendly practices are not just for multinational companies, The Event Company Staging Connections, with a staff of about 40, has hired pregnant women twice and provided them with full maternity benefits.
Both companies were lauded yesterday by Mdm Halimah Yacob, the deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Unions Congress (NTUC), at a dialogue on the impact of the state’s marriage and parenthood package.
“Quite a significant number” of unionists”, she noted, had “voiced concerns on whether women would face increased discrimination at work because of enhanced leave benefits”. The challenge, she felt, was to implement the measures in ways that meet “the needs of both the employees and employers”.
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Bosses
• Organise work to support mums while ensuring business outcomes.
• Base treatment of staff on merit, not pregnancy, on training benefits, pay, promotion, and so on
• Apply parenthood package to all, including contract workers
• Fair, transparent appraisal system
• Train managers, supervisors to implement policies effectively; engage other staff over workflow concerns
Pregnant staff
• Uphold high performance standards
• Give early notice of childcare or maternity leave; mutually agree on best time to minimise disruption
• Ensure smooth handover of duties
• Stretch last eight weeks of leave over longer period (for example, work half-days)
• Be realistic, understand bosses’ concerns
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On the employers’ end, she urged them to apply the parenthood package “equitably”, including to those on flexi-work arrangements and contract work.
They should have a “fair, transparent performance appraisal system that has measurable outcomes” to minimise conflicts over rewards.
Importantly, managers and front-line supervisors should be trained so they can fully support and implement the policies effectively, she said. And the other staff should be engaged over concerns about workflow when employees go on extended leave.
Employees must play their part, too — this includes upholding “a high standard of performance” and not expecting employers to compromise such standards, which would be unfair to other staff.
They should also notify the company early when applying for maternity leave and work with employers to ensure a smooth handover of duties. She also urged staff to be flexible in taking the last eight weeks of maternity leave — such as stretching this over a longer period, with half-day leave arrangements or a three-day workweek.
“We all need to remember that it’s important to ‘Hire on Merit’ and not ‘Fire! She’s married’,” stressed Mdm Halimah, who cochairs the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, a place where pregnant employees who feel they have been discriminated against can seek advice and help.
From TODAY, Voices
Monday September 1, 2008
Letter from Michelle Jean Yeang
I REFER to the letter, “Babies: How singles can help” (Aug 29). I, too, fear that having children means having to give up my freedom and having a lifelong liability.
What I fear most is that my husband and I may create a “social chasm” between our friends and us if they cannot relate to or understand what we are going through. I already felt this way when I got married at 21; while most of my friends were complaining about National Service or university life, I was busy setting up home.
I’m afraid that I will lose my friends when we take different paths in life.
My husband and I thought about waiting for our friends to “catch up” with us so that we can start having families in the same phase of our lives. But we’ve been married for three years and our friends are still single.
I really wonder how much longer we can wait before we finally decide to use what’s left of our youth to raise children so that we can still enjoy spending time with them as they get older.
But I have a feeling that if we do have children and excitedly share baby anecdotes, we will get polite smiles in return as our friends go on to talk more enthusiastically about the remake of some superhero movie.
At the end of the day, even though having children is a personal choice, it is still one influenced by those around us. If our friends can’t understand and relate to our experience as parents, should we give up the company we enjoy for the joy of having children?
Or, can we have both?
From TODAY, Voices
Friday August 29, 2008
RAISING CHILDREN
Childless couples can help, too, by baby-sitting friends’ kids
Letter from Dr Peter Goh Kok Yong
AMID the lively discussion on the new parenthood incentives, the spotlight is certainly on married couples. Two other groups of people might feel slightly sidelined — barren couples and singles. But they need not be, as they too can contribute to the baby efforts.
One reason many young couples choose to have only one or at most two children is their unwillingness to forego their social life, interests and pursuits. They fear being left behind as they find themselves locked in by the endless demands of their children.
While their single or childless couple friends keep themselves tuned to the latest developments in the social scene, movies, fashion and so on, those with young children find themselves knowledgeable only in nursery rhymes. This prospect leads many young couples, especially the yuppies, to adopt a “stop at one” policy.
This is where their barren couple and single friends can help. First, they can volunteer to babysit for their parent friends on a regular basis so as to give them a breather. Tired parents can spend some quality time together or do their own thing, while the volunteers get to share in the joy of parenthood.
Second, these friends who are more well-tuned can certainly keep the busy parents up-to-date with the latest happenings, so that the parents do not feel so out of touch with life beyond diapers and talcum powder.
These contributions may not amount to dollar and cents, but they certainly make a difference to modern parents who value their individuality as much as their responsibility as parents.
Barren couples and singles need not feel sidelined. They can count too when it comes to baby efforts.
From TODAY, Voices
Friday August 29, 2008
SINGLE PARENTS
Letter from Carole Chen Shuyi
LIKE many others, I looked forward to what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had to announce in the Enhanced Marriage & Parenthood Package.
However, despite being a working parent with a Singaporean child below seven years old, I am not eligible for the Enhanced Childcare leave. This is because I am a single unwed mother. I have always wanted to form a nuclear family with as many children as possible but my partner has other more important commitments than to marry me. Desiring to have at least a child of my own, I decided to go ahead without getting married.
Being a single mother takes a lot of courage; people like us face rejection from family members and the scorn of society.
Juggling work and family life, I am responsible solely in meeting the basic needs for myself and my child, and coping with all the emotions that come with parenting.
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I may be a single mother, but I am no different from other parents. I need to spend time with my child to teach him values, attend to him and guide him as he grows. Why, then, am I not entitled to the enhanced childcare leave?
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I am not entitled to purchase a Housing and Development flat because I don’t meet
the eligibility condition of “having a proper family nucleus”. I find this is totally acceptable and understandable because our Government encourages a proper family nucleus. Therefore I accept this ruling.
But I am no different from other parents. I need to spend time with my child to teach him values, attend to him, understand his needs, and guide him as he grows. Why, then, am I not entitled to the enhanced childcare leave?
I am a Singaporean and my child is born in Singapore. He will have to do National Service when the time comes, so why can’t he enjoy the same priveleges as other Singaporean children? Does it mean that because of my (non) marital status, he does not deserve to spend time with his sole parent?
My parents help to look after my child until I come home from work every day. He brings them much joy and pleasure and keeps them busy and from feeling lonely. My child gives me much joy and happiness. I do not regret having him. The only regret is that it seems I am being penalised for having a child out of wedlock.
Four years ago, when Mr Lim Hng Kiang announced the New Package of Measures to Support Parenthood in August 2004, he said: “We have taken the approach of asking what we can do to help Singaporeans at each stage or aspect of their journey as parents”.
He also said: “This package is not only about helping to increase our birth rate. Ultimately, it is about making Singapore a great place for families.”
To me and my child, we are a family.
