Deep Dive Podcast: Budget 2025 help for larger families is neither reward nor incentive, says Indranee Rajah
The government can provide support for parents to have more children, but the key lies in employers creating stronger HR systems, says Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah.
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CNA's weekly news podcast takes a deep dive into issues that people talk about at dining tables and along the office corridors. Hosted by Steven Chia and Crispina Robert.
The government is providing more resources in this year’s Budget for parents who choose to have three or more children.
Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah sits down with Steven Chia and Crispina Robert to talk about families, jobs and what ideal ageing looks like.
Here's an excerpt from the conversation:Â
Crispina Robert, host:Â
Some parents were hoping for more childcare leave because they were saying that, okay, each parent has six days, and then if you have more kids, they fall sick etc … So adjusting this lever cannot be easy, because you're now talking about workplaces, right? You're talking about employers. You're not just talking about the parent with leave (entitlement). Maybe you can share a little bit more about people who are expecting more leave?
Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for Finance:
I fully understand that but don't forget, we've just made a very major move with the shared parental leave of 10 weeks - PM announced that last year at the National Day Rally. And for the employers, it’s a huge step for them.
They need time not just to recover, but obviously to put in place the processes to adjust ... if somebody is out of the workplace for, let's say, even three, four, (or) five weeks. And if one parent takes the full six weeks this year, or one parent takes the full 10 weeks, the company is stuck. They need to find somebody to replace and to cover.Â
We had extensive discussions with the Singapore Business Federation as well as SNEF (Singapore National Employers Federation) and they said that the employers would really appreciate a bit of lead time. So after taking on board their feedback, we split it into six and four, rather than putting it full 10 (weeks) - as we wanted to.
Having done that, if you go and load them up with additional childcare (leave) on top of that, then they'll be like, “But who's in the office left to work?” So we're like, okay, one step at a time.Â
So I'm not ruling out additional childcare, but I think we have to think quite carefully about that.
And in Singapore, we try to avoid these wild pendulum swings. For us, rather than work from home, we're saying flexible work arrangements, which can accommodate other types of work arrangements, not just working from home.
Steven Chia, host:
It really depends on that whole relationship with your employer (and) the type of job you do. Some jobs we know clearly, you can't be a nurse and work from home.
Minister Indranee:Â
Yes, although ... I think it was Tan Tock Seng Hospital that managed to implement flexible arrangements for the nurses. So I think they work certain shifts, and then they're able to take time off. So you can do it, provided you have good HR, good job redesign.
