Working mums get a leg up in financial aid and rebates in the new Baby BonusPackage

Picture courtesy of Drypers Asia

GOVERNMENT has set aside another $300 million to ease the financial obligations of couples with children. This is on top of the $500 million Government is already spending on pro-family measures, announced Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang on 25 August 2004.

Backdated to 1 August 2004, Baby Bonus has been extended to the first and fourth children. Couples will receive $750 for each of their first and second children. They will continue to be given $750 every six months until the babies are 18 months old. This adds up to $3,000 each child. For their third and fourth children, this amount is doubled – and continues until they are 18 months old, too. This means $6,000 each child.

If the couple puts money into a baby bonus account in the bank, Government will match the savings dollar for dollar, up to $6,000 for the second child over the first six years of his life, and up to $12,000 each for the third and fourth children, also over six years. Government will not be giving this benefit to the first-born.  Previously, only the second- and third-born would have got the bonus.

Direct benefits for the mother include the ability to use Medisave for pre-natal check-ups at the hospital and delivery of her fourth and subsequent children. If she needs specialized procedures such as in-vitro fertilisation, she can also use her Medisave: $6,000 for first try, $5,000 for second try and $4,000 for third try. Previously, only $4,000 could be used for each try, up to three times.

Her maternity leave, starting on 1 October 2004, is an extra four weeks, up from eight weeks. This extended paid leave for the first and second children will be borne by Government, up to $10,000. For her third and fourth children, Government will pay her leave capped at $30,000 for 12 weeks.

The working mother can also claim tax rebate: $10,000 for her second child and $20,000 for her third and fourth children, if they are born after 1 January 2004. In addition, she can claim 5 per cent of her income for the first child, 15 per cent for her second child, 20 per cent for her third child and 25 per cent for her fourth child when she files her taxes next year.

If any grandparent, maternal or paternal, looks after her children below 12 years old, she can also claim a $3,000 tax relief. That grandparent need not be living under the same roof as the working mother.

Starting on 1 October 2004, the working mother and her working husband can apply for two days’ Childcare Leave each per year.

If she employs a foreign maid, she only needs to pay a $250 levy instead of the usual $345. This is backdated to take effect on 1 August 2004, and is applicable if the working mother has any children aged 12 and under. This concession is valid for up to two maids if she has more than one child or if the second maid is also caring for an elderly grandparent above 65 years old.

If the working mother decides to place her baby in an infant care centre, she can enjoy a subsidy of up to $400, starting 1 August 2004, if her baby is aged 2 months to 18 months. This is applicable for up to four children. If she stops working, the subsidy is also reduced, to $75 a month.

Key To Jobs In Future

HIGHER education for our youths, continued training and retraining for our workforce. These are vital steps to take to ensure a steady economic growth.

Outlining the main tasks of the new government led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, NTUC Secretary-General Lim Boon Heng said it is important that Singapore’s education policies produce the kind of workers that the new economy requires. “The way forward is to attract even higher value-added investments which require higher education of our people, require more skilled employees in Singapore. Therefore, the challenge would be to make sure that Singaporeans fit into these jobs that we can create,” he said, adding that it is most necessary, therefore, to train and retrain workers so that they can also benefit from these new industries.

Ensure Employment

A JOB for each worker is the best welfare that the labour movement can provide. So said Lim Boon Heng, Secretary-General of NTUC, in his May Day Message. To smoothen the way ahead for workers, he offered this advice:

Firstly, make lifelong learning a habit for all workers. “We should allow individuals to upgrade their skills, in addition to the training their receive from their employers. With skills, it will be easier to find new jobs if necessary,” he said.

Secondly, develop a portable medical benefits scheme. “We should have a basic national scheme as the foundation. Then we should allow each one to purchase additional insurance
coverage over the basic scheme. With a portable medical benefits scheme, workers need not worry about the cost of hospital treatment if they are unemployed.”

Thirdly, Mr Lim said workers should save for a rainy day. “They will have something to tide them through unemployment.” In an Editorial in NTUC News (25 June 2004), Mr Lim said that unemployed Singaporeans are “our own people” who need help and should be helped.

He wrote: “The easy way out for most employers is to recruit hungry, fit and fast foreign workers who are prepared to work for low wages. But unemployed Singaporeans are our own people. They need help and we should help them. We need the help of employers and government if we are to provide a meaningful number of jobs for those who are out of work.”

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