SINGAPORE: A slew of new measures kick in on
Tuesday. Among them - parents getting better support in raising a
child, and employers abiding by a weekly day-off policy for foreign
maids. Car buyers and taxi users too will benefit from new
regulations.
With the new year, comes new
policies.
One of the new policies is the Child Development
Account (CDA) under the Baby Bonus scheme, which is aimed at
helping families with the costs of raising children.
It is a savings account where parents' deposits are matched
dollar-for-dollar by the government, up to a cap ranging from
S$6,000 to S$18,000, depending on the birth order of the
child.
From January, parents can continue to dip into the savings account
until their children are 12 years old, instead of six. This
includes paying for healthcare and childcare fees.
Associate Professor Paulin Straughan, a sociologist with the
National university of Singapore (NUS), said the move is pertinent,
given the demands of raising a child.
She added: "A big concern for parents now is childcare. And
childcare for school-going primary kids, primary school kids are
not cheap. For example, after school care. So if they are allowed
to dip into the CDA for this, it will certainly help working
dual-income families significantly."
The new year also marks the start of mandatory weekly rest-days for
foreign domestic workers. This will apply to those whose work
permits are issued or renewed from January 1, 2013. All maids will
be covered by the new legislation by 2015.
Employers and workers should agree on which day of the week the
rest day falls, and if there's no day-off, employers must give
monetary compensation.
Employment agencies are also expected to play a larger role.
President of the Association of Employment Agencies, K Jayaprema,
said: "The employers are going to need the employment agencies to
be part of this, because we are supposed to negotiate the off-days,
we are supposed to witness the paperwork, when the domestic worker
actually agrees not to take her day off and to be
compensated.
"So I will strongly encourage employers to ensure that when they
are going through this process of off-days with the employees, they
should work with the employment agencies involved."
Separately, those eyeing a new car can stand to benefit from the
new Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme. Owners of cars which are
more fuel-efficient and emit less carbon will enjoy rebates of up
to S$20,000. This will be given as an offset against the vehicle's
Additional Registration Fee.
To make an informed choice, buyers are advised to look out for the
mandatory Fuel Economy Labelling Scheme (FELS) at showrooms.
The Land Transport Authority said only cars that are approved by
LTA under FELS can be registered for use from January 1.
Those who do not own a car may also now find it easier to get a
cab. That is because operators must ensure that 70 per cent of
their fleet are on the road during peak hours and clock an average
daily mileage of 250 kilometres. This translates to around eight to
nine hours on the road per day, five days a week.
Observers believe the move may burden smaller operators and cause
them to merge, in order to meet the standards.
Associate Professor Lee Der-Horng of the Department of Civil
Engineering at NUS said: "With this quality of service measurement,
this may become a burden to the smaller operators. Because given
their size and given their corporate resources, it may be even more
difficult for them to satisfy (the requirements).
"Perhaps we may see a merger between the smaller operators but from
the passengers side, this may be good news as well. After the
merger, they may better cooperate resources and they may be able to
provide better service to passengers."
Taxis will be also allowed to pick up and drop off passengers along
roads within the Central Business District, except for roads with
bus lanes during the operating hours of the lanes.
-CNA/ac