By Shukry Rashid
From 1 January 2017, fathers will be entitled to a total of two weeks of paternity leave, up from the currently legislated one week.
This was announced by Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo when she spoke on population during the Committee of Supply debate on 13 April 2016.
“On numerous occasions in this debate, members [of Parliament] spoke about the “Singaporean Core”. Clearly, it is something we all care deeply about… In promoting marriage and parenthood, we are growing the Singaporean Core from within,” said Mrs Teo.
Responding to the announcement, NTUC Youth Development Unit Director and MP for Tampines GRC Desmond Choo said that he was glad with the announcement.
He added: “This will be an important pillar in supporting family-centric workplaces. It also correctly reflects the important role and aspirations of young fathers in their co-parenting journey.
The enhancement applies to all fathers of Singapore citizen children born from 1 January 2017.
Better Salaries for Engineers
Fresh engineering graduates working in the public sector can also look forward to better salaries. Speaking on the same day, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Teo Chee Hean – also Minister in Charge of the Public Service Division – spoke on the Government’s plans to build up engineering capabilities in the Public Service.
“Taking reference from the market starting salaries of good engineering graduates, we will set the salaries for good engineers joining the Public Service upon graduation starting from $3,800 per month, and those in ICT [Information and Communications Technology] starting from $4,000 per month. This means an increase in starting salaries of 20% on average,” said DPM Teo.
He added that the Government will review the salaries of serving engineers, and raise them where needed to ensure engineering salaries in the public sector remain competitive.
Competency Framework
DPM Teo also announced that the Government will develop a competency framework for engineers from seven public agencies in the second half of 2016. The framework will articulate knowledge and skills to help engineers progress in their careers.
The Government will also build on existing programmes that agencies have in place for technical specialists, and ramp up efforts to identify and develop engineers with deep technical expertise to take on key scientific, engineering and technical leadership positions in ministries and public agencies. Greater support for career development and growth will also be given, such as mentoring by senior technical experts.
Centres of Excellence
Centres of Excellence for key engineering knowledge clusters will also be established. They will be built around public agencies which already have a strong base of engineering capabilities.
These centres will aggregate key capabilities and build deep engineering expertise in critical areas of need. They will support other government organisations, optimise scarce engineering resources, and invest in research and development to build cutting-edge engineering expertise.
Plans for three such centres are already in the pipeline; they are JTC Corporation, Defence Science and Technology Agency, and GovTech.
Responding to the slew of initiatives announced by the Government, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and MP for West Coast GRC Patrick Tay said that he is glad that DPM Teo has announced the measures to better attract, retain and upgrade engineering professionals within the civil service.
“This will help boost their careers, image and prospects and also enhance our public sector's capabilities to roll out the various infrastructural and technological projects in Singapore,” he added.
Source: NTUC This Week
