Will Aware's ideas work?

[MarrickG]

THE Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) is calling for five policy changes to help the falling birth rate here.

The association wants paternity leave of two weeks to be made mandatory.

It is also for converting the final month of the existing four-month maternity leave into a parental one.

Aware's call comes in the wake of Singapore's fertility rate being at a record low.

In 2010, it plummeted to 1.16, a far cry from the replacement rate of 2.1.

A recent study of 1,000 young working parents commissioned by Aware, found that nine in 10 support compulsory paternity leave, while over half want the option to transfer leave from mum to dad.

a) Make paid paternity leave of two weeks mandatory, with the cost shared between the employer and the state.

b) Convert the 4th month of maternity leave into ‘parental leave’ to be taken by either parent, with the state sharing the cost with the employer when the father takes this leave.

c) Offer a ‘parenting present’ of $4,000 to couples where the father takes the 4th month of parental leave.

d) Convert the currently mandated 6 days of paid childcare leave into dependent’s leave, with ‘dependents’ including older children and parents.

e) Extend to unwed parents the same parenting leave benefits enjoyed by married parents.

 

[Dreamer1]

THE Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) is calling for five policy changes to help the falling birth rate here.

The association wants paternity leave of two weeks to be made mandatory.

It is also for converting the final month of the existing four-month maternity leave into a parental one.

Aware's call comes in the wake of Singapore's fertility rate being at a record low.

In 2010, it plummeted to 1.16, a far cry from the replacement rate of 2.1.

A recent study of 1,000 young working parents commissioned by Aware, found that nine in 10 support compulsory paternity leave, while over half want the option to transfer leave from mum to dad.

a) Make paid paternity leave of two weeks mandatory, with the cost shared between the employer and the state.

b) Convert the 4th month of maternity leave into ‘parental leave’ to be taken by either parent, with the state sharing the cost with the employer when the father takes this leave.

c) Offer a ‘parenting present’ of $4,000 to couples where the father takes the 4th month of parental leave.

d) Convert the currently mandated 6 days of paid childcare leave into dependent’s leave, with ‘dependents’ including older children and parents.

e) Extend to unwed parents the same parenting leave benefits enjoyed by married parents.

It wouldn't because they refrain fr the core issues,they are just trying their best to be politically correct,accordingly to LKY,which I agree

 

[Cestbon]

THE Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) is calling for five policy changes to help the falling birth rate here.

The association wants paternity leave of two weeks to be made mandatory.

It is also for converting the final month of the existing four-month maternity leave into a parental one.

Aware's call comes in the wake of Singapore's fertility rate being at a record low.

In 2010, it plummeted to 1.16, a far cry from the replacement rate of 2.1.

A recent study of 1,000 young working parents commissioned by Aware, found that nine in 10 support compulsory paternity leave, while over half want the option to transfer leave from mum to dad.

a) Make paid paternity leave of two weeks mandatory, with the cost shared between the employer and the state.

b) Convert the 4th month of maternity leave into ‘parental leave’ to be taken by either parent, with the state sharing the cost with the employer when the father takes this leave.

c) Offer a ‘parenting present’ of $4,000 to couples where the father takes the 4th month of parental leave.

d) Convert the currently mandated 6 days of paid childcare leave into dependent’s leave, with ‘dependents’ including older children and parents.

e) Extend to unwed parents the same parenting leave benefits enjoyed by married parents.

1st one , I think is reasonable. Maybe one week(5 days) paternity leave and another extra 5 days can be taken seperately.
Others, I think many company cannot affords especially small company with limited headcount. Too many mandatory leave will make more employer to choose FT.
Male already have reservist add annual leave, MC, childcare leave, paternity leave. That would be nearly 2 month off/year. If you are the boss will you employ such worker?
No work/money will anyone dare to start family? No.
Best I think is not the money/leave.

My Ideas is
1. $5k cash for 1st born child and another $5k in edusave.
2. $5k cash and another $15k in edusave for 2nd child or more.
3. Subsidy the childcare cost to make the cost less than $300/month or less.
4. Free medical healtcare for children/cap at $2k/year until child is 5 year old.
5. Tax relief for children increase to $15k/family members.

 

[batman1]

Ad hoc or piecemeal approach will not solve the low fertility rates.

 

[Cestbon]

Transfer leave will not work.
1. If the wife not working ?
2. Will the different company happy about this tranfer leave from A to B?
3. This will mess up company plan because unpredictable leave.
4. Already 4 month leave consider too long. No one willing toemploy pregnant woman and also those consider having baby.

 

[halsey02]

The SINgapore males have already a great disadvantage, with National Service & Reservist now, we want to add paternity leave to that?. Will Reservist dates override paternity leave?? marry a foreigner & PR...you get the best of both world..maternity & paternity leave, without the worry of NS or reservist.... ha ha ha ha

 

[annexa]

Idiots. Make so complicated rules for fuck?

1st child, 1 year electricity and water bills FREE. Father gets 1 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

2nd child, 1.5 years electricity, water bills, town council bills FREE. Father gets 2 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

3rd child onwards, 2 years electricity, water bills, town council bills FREE. Father gets 2 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

See, gahmen no need pay company, no need worry productivity lose, no need worry nobody go work and make everyone happy!

 

[hillary888]

It is about priority, if parents feel that children is the most important gift from God, they will cherish the child no matter what difficulties they faced.

To give the best for the child is not about Money or leaving them with the in-laws, its a commitment - sacrifices has to be made. I have many friends who become mothers decided to temporary stop working to look after their children because they believe that it is the best for the child!

Financially they can be tight but the "returns" is better.

 

[HellAngel]

I think their idea will only drive employers more willing to employ FTs. This would be worst.

 

[streetsmart73]

Ad hoc or piecemeal approach will not solve the low fertility rates.

hi there

1. kosong ground sentiments on the work environment.
2. one fine day, employers will just employ single foreigners.
3. honest, aware is not addressing the root cause of the low fertility rate.
4. how to procreate if nothing is conducive.
5. simply, no energy or mood to bonk!

 

[no_faith]

The SINgapore males have already a great disadvantage, with National Service & Reservist now, we want to add paternity leave to that?. Will Reservist dates override paternity leave??

dun forget time off for RT. hahaha

time off+reservist+paternity leave?
boss:"you can stay at home!"

imho, reservist can nvr override paternity leave.

AWARE is juz money sucking wayang party. talk is cheap.

 

[Brightkid]

AWARE, after created a hoo-ha on the recent Woman's right issue, trying to sabo male citizens ?

Even it adopted, will male citizen dared to take those additional leave ? As many pointed out, it will be worst if employers only employ 'FT's.

AWARE is aware of the ground situation ? I doubt it.

 

[fukyuman]

Aware should just stick to women. With so many single women including lesbian couples, just push to bring single mothers to new creative heights.

The YOG was such a waste of sperms, all down the free YOG condoms and flushed away. Young and virile athletes should be allowed to bonk bare-cock and all. This will result in a new generation of truly cosmopolitan babies. It would be the most anticipated and filled with dreamy mothers to be. During the F1 there are already so many spgs who pay top dollars watching alone.

Since we are already checking employment pass holders for blood borne diseases, the next step is to tax their sperms instead. Our single men haters women will now help bear homogeneous chinese kids with handsome looking fathers from North China. The tax would be extended to pilot trainees and any male getting into medical schools where only selected few gets in.

Since birth father is anonymous, PAP will bent the rules and our Justice of Peace will perform a new function instead of just solemnizing marriages. The registry of births will nominate their names to show fathers in certificates. Nicknames are allowed so the new kids may take up movie stars surnames in future like Evangelina Depp.

Like COEs promotions like free milk powder will be given for year of tiger babies so schools and army camps will be filled and go empty for that cohort.

 

[Char_Azn]

Idiots. Make so complicated rules for fuck?

1st child, 1 year electricity and water bills FREE. Father gets 1 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

2nd child, 1.5 years electricity, water bills, town council bills FREE. Father gets 2 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

3rd child onwards, 2 years electricity, water bills, town council bills FREE. Father gets 2 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

See, gahmen no need pay company, no need worry productivity lose, no need worry nobody go work and make everyone happy!

I like this idea

Sure beats the one AWARE came up with

 

[patrickv]

who let the (pap) dog out

 

[batman1]

hi there

1. kosong ground sentiments on the work environment.
2. one fine day, employers will just employ single foreigners.
3. honest, aware is not addressing the root cause of the low fertility rate.
4. how to procreate if nothing is conducive.
5. simply, no energy or mood to bonk!

Until today,they still do not acknowledge the real reason for the low fertility rates in singapore .The so-called leaders are still in denial mode and they just wayang lip service all talking superficially.There is no strong alternative voice to tell them to shut up and start doing the right things .What is the root cause of low fertility rates in singapore ? U don't need to be a rocket scientist to know the reason . Or are they still sleeping on the job that they are blind to what's happening on the ground ?

 

[no_faith]

Or are they still sleeping on the job that they are blind to what's happening on the ground ?

no choice, dey choose to be blind.
dey nvr answer qns but to divert ur attention or worst, dey answer you wif another qns.

 

[johnny333]

Until today,they still do not acknowledge the real reason for the low fertility rates in singapore .The so-called leaders are still in denial mode and they just wayang lip service all talking superficially.

It's all about $$$ & not denial. I think LKY/LHL has done their sums & concluded
it's cheaper to import foreigners then to spend money to improve the life of it's own citizens

 

[annexa]

Of course. How can you trust women to write practical solutions for men?

I think all of us here deserve ministar pay more than the ministar's scholars.

I like this idea

Sure beats the one AWARE came up with

Quote:
Originally Posted by annexa
Idiots. Make so complicated rules for fuck?

1st child, 1 year electricity and water bills FREE. Father gets 1 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

2nd child, 1.5 years electricity, water bills, town council bills FREE. Father gets 2 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

3rd child onwards, 2 years electricity, water bills, town council bills FREE. Father gets 2 high key less from reservist and eligible to MR at age 35 if finish all resrvist shit. Plus the child bonus and current whatever benefit.

See, gahmen no need pay company, no need worry productivity lose, no need worry nobody go work and make everyone happy!

I like this idea

 

[HellAngel]

It will only get worse...


======================================================

What choices do young women in S'pore have?
by Siti Nadzirah Samsudin
05:56 AM Mar 08, 2011


As a young woman in Singapore, I enjoy many luxuries. I can walk the streets alone at night and still feel safe; I have access to clean water and food; I can vote (if ever given the opportunity to) and I have access to education. In theory, I have the same opportunities as a man my age.

Ideas of gender and how society views men and women differently were planted in my mind during my studies at the University of Melbourne. It was only after I graduated, returned to Singapore and began looking for my first job that I realise: Things for me and my male counterparts aren't so equal after all.

I was applying to the National Institute of Education to become a teacher, and saw that the pay scale was different depending on your gender. Regardless of job performance or experience, men earn more, to make up for the fact that they serve mandatory National Service.

A little more research, and I found out that generally, more men hold higher positions earning more money than women. Of the few women occupying higher ranks, I can only imagine the discrimination and the stereotyping they are faced with. And where a woman gets pregnant, she may be dismissed because the company does not want to deal with her absence from work. The unfairness of this horror! This made me re-think my entire career. What could I do?

At Women's Choices, Women's Lives, Shaping the Next 25 Years, a conference organised by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) last Saturday, I found myself asking more questions - about what it means to be a young woman in Singapore, and what the future holds for me and my fellow women.

The conference featured experts like Dr Kanwaljit Soin talking about the plight of older women, Professor Linda Lim doing a comparison between women in the economy today and 25 years ago, Professor Teo You Yenn on women's choices in relation to family and Braema Mathi on gender discrimination in general. The speakers, all amazing women who have accomplished so much in their respective fields, also questioned the choices women are presented with today.

Are the measures that have been put into place by the Government enough to support my decision to juggle family and career at the same time? Letters streaming to the media detail a working mother's struggle. They plead for more options, more help, but instead we are told the Government will not intervene on the issue of parental care. Yet, more women are called on to make babies. Is a monetary gift enough of an incentive? I do not think so. Sure, the money will be a great help, but for how long?

Will my employer be considerate and understanding if I have to take urgent leave to care for my child? What about those couples who choose not to get married but still have children - they are contributing towards Singapore's fertility rate, so will they get the same support? What about single mums who need even more help than two-parent families? And the most pressing question: Isn't whether I have children or not my personal decision to make?

Looking further into the future, I wonder: How will I live out my golden years? Will I be healthy and happy? What if I contract chronic illness? The World Health Organization ranked Singapore's health care system sixth in terms of effectiveness. But, when looking at fairness of the system we ranked 101 out of 191. Why? Perhaps because currently, anyone aged above 85 is not covered by MediShield or Medisave. So, in our ageing society, elderly people and their caregivers (usually children, the very ones being pushed to have more children of their own) are expected to shoulder the medical expenses.

So many difficult questions. I feel like being a woman has its disadvantages, but that does not mean that I should accept it as the status quo. I should work towards changing the circumstances around me to my advantage. There is no such thing as "no choice" - there is always a choice in how we respond. Mine is to work towards creating more choices for me, and for women in Singapore.



Siti Nadzirah Samsudin, 23, graduated from the University of Melbourne last year and recently joined AWARE as a research and advocacy executive.