Contributors who were in favour of the extension underscored the need for parents to spend more quality time with their children. A contributor felt that childcare leave should not be simply meant to enable parents to take time off their work to take care of their children when they are sick, but also to provide them the opportunity to spend more time supervising and nurturing their children during their formative years. Several contributors also acknowledged that extending childcare leave to include children in primary school would also enable parents to be more involved in their children’s development, especially during their crucial primary school years, and be present for key milestones in their young lives, such as the first day of school and regular parent-teacher meetings.
Others, however, felt that extending the childcare leave would be unfair to other employees who were single or who had grown-up children, since they would likely have to cover the duties of their colleagues taking childcare leave. One contributor also noted that since the first day of school for primary school children fell on the same day in all schools, enabling all parents of primary school children to take the day off may result in some companies not being able to function. Contributors also noted that this change may result in more discrimination against women in the job market, as it may prompt some employers to hire men or singles instead of women with young kids.
A point that contributors did agree on, was that the Government should consult the key stakeholders – employers and parents – for their views on the matter before proceeding with any review.
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