SINGAPORE: Given Singapore's declining birth rate
and ageing population, more needs to be done in terms of providing
adequate childcare as well as meeting the needs of those caring for
aged and dependent relatives, the Association of Women for Action
and Research (AWARE) said on Tuesday.
Current caregiving schemes including childcare and
kindergarten subsidies are pegged to a family monthly household
income of S$1,800 or less.
However, the median monthly household income rose to
S$5,000 this year, and so has the cost of living.
The eligibility criteria should be reviewed and revised, Aware
said.
This call was among a slew of suggestions put forth by Aware in
what the gender equality advocacy group said was "a women's
perspective" to the upcoming Budget on Friday.
Other calls include: Singles - men or women - who are caregivers
and who employ foreign domestic workers should be given the tax
relief on the levy they pay to Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Unwed mothers should be extended the same motherhood and childcare
benefits as married mothers.
The 19-page, two-part submission spells out its proposals for
policy-making and programmes implementation, which is divided into
areas like families with children, caregiving, as well as health
and employment issues.
"Women make up half the population. Women's issues are the nation's
issues, and every step taken to deal with these issues and to
ensure the development of women will mean better outcomes for
families and for society generally," said the paper.
A key concern highlighted in the report is what Aware deemed an
inconsistent provision of gender or age-specific data, using last
year's budget as an example.
The paper also noted that the Ministry of Community Development,
Youth and Sport's (MCYS) 2010 budget allocation was just 4 per
cent, which AWARE considered "small" given that it looks into
"cradle to grave" issues.
Similarly MOM, which has tasks such as job creation, received just
2 per cent of the Singapore Budget pie.
AWARE said it believes that MCYS and MOM will need bigger budget
allocations if they are to achieve their goals.
-CNA/ac