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