Response Speech at Adjournment Motion on Supporting Singaporeans in Starting and Raising Families

Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, Parliament House

1. Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Members for their suggestions on how we can support Singaporeans’ aspirations in starting and raising families. As a mother of three children, I can relate to most of the challenges that working parents experience in balancing work and family responsibilities at the same time.

2. The Government is working with employers to make workplaces more conducive for employees with young children:

a. Firstly, by enabling working parents to balance their work and caregiving duties through Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs);
b. Secondly, by supporting full-time caregivers to return to work when they are ready to do so.

Flexible Work Arrangements

3. I agree with Mr Yip Hon Weng, Mr Desmond Choo, Ms Joan Pereira, Mr Leong Mun Wai, Ms Rachel Ong and Ms Yeo Wan Ling that Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) support parents in managing work and family commitments. Working parents face a tough balancing act – on one hand, we want to contribute to the best of our abilities at work, and also progress in our careers. At the same time, we want to devote time and attention to our children, to help them to grow up happily and healthily. FWAs can be helpful in this regard.

4. We often think of work-from-home arrangements, or flexi-place, whenever FWAs are mentioned. However, flexible time, such as staggered work hours, or flexible load arrangements, such as part-time work, are just as useful.

a. In the past when Flexible Work Arrangements were not so common, working parents often had to take leave to bring their child for a medical appointment. Now, more parents are able to do so with flexi-time work arrangements, such as by reporting to work slightly later in the morning and catching up on work later in the day. Such arrangements are a game-changer not just working parents, but their employers as well, as such arrangements effectively reduce disruptions at work.

5. To help employers and employees constructively discuss and land on FWAs that meet the needs of both parties, the tripartite partners launched the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests in December last year.

6. For FWAs to work well, trust and communication are needed on both sides – employers should assess requests for FWAs based on business grounds and communicate the outcome of the assessment to the employees, while employees should be open to exploring mutually acceptable solutions if employers are unable to accede to their original request for FWAs.

7. Mr Louis Chua suggested legislating the Right to Request for FWAs. However, this alone may not lead to higher FWA adoption as employers still have the prerogative to approve or reject FWA requests based on business grounds. And we have seen that in other countries. Instead, our approach is in enabling companies to implement FWAs sustainably, such as through job re-design and equipping of HR professionals with relevant tools and knowledge that support FWAs.

8. Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Zhulkarnain spoke about the critical role fathers play and called on companies to provide FWAs to working fathers as well. Ms Rachel Ong highlighted the importance of FWAs for caregivers of children with disabilities or rare disorders. The Tripartite Guidelines allow all employees, including fathers and caregivers, to request for FWAs

9. I encourage working parents and other caregivers to discuss with their employers how they can use FWAs to work productively while managing their caregiving responsibilities. For employers, FWAs are a valuable tool to attract and retain talented employees, who may otherwise choose to switch roles or sectors, or leave the workforce entirely to take care of their young children.

10. MOM is working closely with the tripartite partners to build employers’ capabilities and confidence in implementing FWAs. I will provide further update on this at the upcoming Committee of Supply (COS).

Supporting stay-at-home parents’ return to work

11. While FWAs and leave provisions are useful in helping working parents balance their dual responsibilities, some parents may also choose to take a temporary break from their career to focus on raising their children. However, once they are ready to return to work, many former stay-at-home parents find themselves doubting if they are still employable. They may need to polish up their interview skills, or update their CVs. Some need a confidence boost as they navigate a job market that has evolved in the years since they were away. More crucially, many worry that their skills are no longer relevant in the workplace and this is especially so given the rapid pace of change in the workplace due to technological shifts. This can also happen to some freelancers and lower-skilled workers whose jobs are at risk of being disrupted due to Artificial Intelligence and new technologies, as highlighted by Ms Jean See.

12. I encourage those who plan to return to regular work to make use of the wealth of resources available. Singaporeans are eligible for up to 70% subsidy for SkillsFuture-approved courses to upgrade their skills, and can use their SkillsFuture Credit to offset the out-of-pocket fees. Those aged 40 and above receive higher subsidies of up to 90% and are eligible for further support under the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme.

13. Women are often the ones taking career breaks for caregiving, although men are increasingly stepping up to take on a more equal share of childcare responsibilities. Mr Desmond Choo urged companies to provide more opportunities to help stay-at-home mothers return to work and he mentioned several good examples. There are also many programmes to support women in rejoining the workforce after a career break. Workforce Singapore’s HerCareer Initiative brings together employment facilitation programmes, such as Career Conversion Programmes and Mid-Career Pathways Programmes, that support female jobseekers to access available jobs, transit into new industries and job roles, and build up job-relevant skillsets. Yayasan MENDAKI’s Women@Work initiative offers training in job-ready skills like interview techniques, business communication and digital literacy, as well as a support network to connect participants to job opportunities. And there is Mums@Work’s JumpStart Reintegration Programme which helps women transition back to work with the help of a dedicated coach. NTUC’s Women Supporting Women Mentorship Programme, as well as the C U Back at Work (CUB) Programme which Ms Yeo Wan Ling mentioned earlier, also provide support for mothers who are returning to work. These initiatives provide a wide-ranging ecosystem of support in preparing mothers for a successful return to work and I strongly encourage them.

Fostering a supportive workplace culture for parents

14. Beyond individual programmes, we must also continue our broader efforts to foster a workplace culture that supports parents and families. We encourage employers to have open conversations with their employees to help them succeed at work while they navigate parenthood. Mr Mark Lee will be happy to hear that the Institute for HR Professionals (IHRP) organises online and physical engagement sessions to equip both HR professionals and business leaders with the relevant skills and resources needed to implement work-life harmony measures. I encourage organisations to join IHRP as a Corporate Partner and have their HR teams certified to advance progressive HR practices.

15. Separately, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) offers training and resources for employers on building their HR capabilities to implement FWAs. Associate Professor Razwana Begum suggested introducing a Corporate Family Responsibility Certification programme to recognise companies that implement family-friendly policies. Today, companies that implement progressive workplace practices may already apply for the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony and exemplary organisations are recognised under the “Work-Life Excellence” category of the Tripartite Alliance Award.

16. Mr Melvin Yong urged all employers to implement a Right to Disconnect policy at the workplace. This has been debated before and Members had recognized it is not straightforward to impose across all jobs. Instead, as recommended under the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-Being at Workplaces, companies should provide clarity on after-hours work communication. This includes understanding the need for proper rest outside of work, and establishing clear and reasonable expectations for work-related communication after hours.

17. We will do our best to create a vibrant economy and high-skilled workforce so that there will continue to be good job opportunities and job security for Singaporeans. Mr Leong Mun Wai may wish to review the facts and data that MOM has presented on multiple occasions in this house that show how employment rates and wage growth for Singaporeans have been on a positive trend. Unemployment rate for Singapore citizens has remained low at around 3% on average over the last decade.

18. I thank Mr Leong Mun Wai, Ms Hazel Poa, Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Mark Lee and Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim for their suggestions on incentivising and supporting employers to create family-friendly workplaces and provide more flexi-work options. We are open to all suggestions, although the solutions must go beyond short-term and address underlying problems such as mindsets at the workplace about commitment level of colleagues who have young children. We should also be careful about unintended consequences such as increasing reliance on foreign manpower, or negative impact on employability of working parents. It is more sustainable for businesses to adjust their processes and build workplaces that can better attract and retain valuable talent from our many working parents. In this regard, we look towards partnerships with Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), and the broader business community, in raising awareness of best practices and engendering progressive practices among employers. This is also part of the social compact we would like to see in companies under Forward SG.

19. Together with our Tripartite Partners, we have made great strides in the past decade to foster family-friendly workplaces that help working parents succeed in their careers. Nonetheless, there are those who worry that parenthood may itself be a reason for employers to discriminate against them at work. The landmark Workplace Fairness Bill, which was passed in January this year, prohibits such discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as caregiving responsibilities. It does so during all stages of the employment process, including hiring, promotion, appraisals, and dismissals. This is a significant step forward in entrenching fair and harmonious norms at the workplace that give working parents the reassurance they need to focus on and do their job well.

Supporting students in their education journey

20. Mr Speaker, let me also speak briefly on Members’ suggestions on our education system.

21. On education, I know that some parents feel that our education system is stressful and worry whether their children can do well and how to support them.

22. We want to assure Singaporeans and parents that we have a robust system in place that supports our children along every step along their education journey.

23. Associate Professor Razwana asked for a review of the Singapore education system. MOE has indeed been making bold shifts in our education system.

a. The removal of mid-year examinations at all levels in primary and secondary school
b. The introduction of the PSLE Achievement Level scoring system
c. As well as the full implementation of Full Subject-Based Banding from 2024, for students to customise their education at a finer level.
d. Mr Leong Mun Wai suggested for the removal of the PSLE to reduce pressures in the education system. This has been raised by other Members in the past, and the Member may want to refer to MOE’s Committee of Supply debates in 2023 and 2024, to better appreciate the considerations.

24. Through these shifts and more, we are moving away from an over-emphasis on academic performance to prioritise holistic development of our students instead. There is now greater flexibility and customisation to allow our children to discover and develop their unique strengths and interests and fulfil their potential at their own pace.

25. Ms Rachel Ong asked for a review of our secondary school CCA system, to provide more opportunities for students to engage in physical activities. MOE will provide such opportunities to develop students holistically, develop students’ diverse strengths and interests, and support their well-being, including through outdoor activities. .

a. We have started to enable students from different secondary schools to come together to pursue shared interests, through collaborations between specific schools, or through the centrally-run Strategic Partnership CCAs to support schools which might not have the capacity to run these CCAs on their own. These include CCAs in physical sports, namely Athletics and Water Polo. We will explore expanding this arrangement to more sports.

26. But for all these moves to succeed, we need parents to come on board. We need to:

a. Emphasise character development and good values;
b. Nurture good health habits at home, to support their well-being;
c. Leave behind the old ways of measuring achievement and embrace a wider definition of success in school and the workplace;
d. Foster resilience in our children and be open to different pathways and new sectors;
e. Respect and partner our teachers and work with them.

Conclusion

27. Mr Speaker, we have made many bold and decisive moves at the workplace and in our education system over the years to optimise our precious manpower resource, uplift those who are disadvantaged and help every Singaporean achieve their full potential. We need bold moves in organisation and policies but at the same time, we also need to be bold in rethinking our priorities, how we define success, our mindsets and also our culture. We all want to make Singapore a place that is Made for Families but we know that the government cannot do this on our own. Everyone can play a part in supporting parents to give their best at work while raising children.