Breaking: Government pushes for extended paternity leave

The National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) aims to raise awareness amongst employers and encourage more firms to implement the extra week of paternity leave brought in last year.
 
Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Josephine Teo, spoke to reporters today (4 January) about how the NPTD planned to work with businesses to help fathers play a larger role in raising their children.
 
The actual take-up rate for the additional week of paternity leave was “very modest” and “can be much higher,” she said.
 
The NPTD will reach out to organisations yet to implement this extended paternity leave and hopes to bring even more on board. The division was also planning to raise awareness amongst working fathers themselves.
 
“Some young fathers may not be so well aware of it as yet. And some do encounter a little bit of difficulty when they raise it with their employers. So that is something we are trying to understand more,” she said.
 
“Consider the fact that eight in ten mothers are very likely to be active in the workforce. This makes it all the more important for dads, too, to be active participants in the child-raising process.”
 
These moves tie in with the NPDT’s overall goal of improving workplace and community support for all parents.
 
“[This] community of support – particularly from employers but also with regard to commercial organisations and educational institutions – I think it is the kind of culture we want to strengthen,” she said.