Initiatives for working women at work, live and play
9 November 2007
Media Release
1. Announced by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) at the National Delegates’ Conference (NDC) 2007 in October, the Family Development Unit (FDU) was set up to provide a holistic support to working women not just at work, but at live and play too as the labour movement recognises the contributions of working women to the nation’s economy with 42%[1] of resident workforce being women, as well as the challenges faced by working women in balancing their working, family and personal lives. Out of about 200,000 female working union members, 120,000 of them are between 25 to 44 years old.
2. Ms Adeline Sum, Director of FDU said, “Women are better educated today and most aspire to be high-performing working mothers committed both to work and the family. Many women also want to work to supplement the family income so as to give their children the best in life. This is why the Labour Movement is stepping up efforts to first understand, and then meet the needs of working mothers in the areas of work, live and play, as part of our Labour Movement 2011 action plan.”
Supporting Working Women at Live
3. As life expectancy of women increases, good health and effective financial management are important to ensure that when women live and work longer, they are also financially well-prepared for old age. To address these needs, FDU tied up NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Limited and Mummy & Me affinity group to develop programmes specially catered for them.
Comprehensive Healthcare Services for Mothers and young children
4. To expand its healthcare services by introducing an integrated pro-family health services, NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Limited collaborated with the Thomson Medical Centre to set up a Thomson Women’s Clinic within the NTUC Medicare Family Clinic at the recently launched AMK Hub. At the clinic, women will be able to receive comprehensive out-patient health services such as pre-marital health screening, pre-natal and post-natal check-ups and other women-related health treatments and advice. Coupled with the availability of children and general healthcare services at the NTUC Medicare Clinic, working women will be able to enjoy one-stop total healthcare services for the family. The clinic is expected to commence operations by mid next year.
Financial Planning for Family
5. One key concern in setting up a family is financial resources, especially in childbearing decisions. Working women are especially concerned over the immediate financial commitment in having children, as well as the long term financial resources required for children upbringing. In 2008, Mummy & Me affinity group will be working with OCBC Bank to look into developing exciting ways for families, including those who plan to start a family, to learn about financial planning and management.
Early Childhood Development Information Services
6. More parents now understand that early childhood development is vital to their children’s future learning and overall development. There is a strong demand for sound and evidence-based research and information about the way children from zero to eight years old learn and grow. NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited and Mummy & Me are working together to provide online content and expert advice to parents. An example is the development of a toolkit of educational and fun activities that will enhance the quality time parents spend with their children.
7. To engage and benefit more women in the financial planning, early childhood and future useful programmes, Mummy & Me aims to reach out to 12,000 members by 2008, from its existing pool of 8,000 members.
Supporting Working Women at Play
8. The labour movement recognises that family support is important to working women, and family life must not be compromised as women stay in the workforce. To enhance the quality and enjoyment of family life, NTUC Club is expanding its current eXplorerkid club at Downtown East from 8,200 square feet of playland that stimulates children's imagination and learning capabilities to four times its current size with facilities and activities to engage the entire family. The new eXplorerkid club would be ready by mid 2008, and the membership will be expanded from the existing 7,000 to more than 15,000 within a year so that more families can benefit from preferential rates offered to members.
9. In addition, FDU is working with Orchid Country Club, owned by Singapore Labour Foundation, an affiliated organisation of NTUC, to enhance and expand its current attractions to become a wholesome edutainment hub targeted at families with young children by 2011.
Supporting Working Women at Work
10. One of the key challenges faced by working women is striking a harmony between work and personal or family life. In October this year, NTUC and its 12 social enterprises pledged its commitment to implement family-friendly employment practices with an extended three-month no-pay maternity leave and an option to convert from full time to part-time employment for mothers with children less than two years old. FDU will be working closely with the social enterprises to explore other family-friendly initiatives that will meet the needs of working mothers.
11. Another key challenge faced by women returning back-to-work or staying on-the-job is the availability, quality and affordability of childcare services, preschool education and before-and-after school care services. It is the labour movement’s mandate to NTUC Childcare to provide affordable and quality preschool education, and help to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to build a foundation in education regardless of family circumstances.
12. Ms Adeline Sum shared, “The national median full-day childcare programme fee is $574[2] and NTUC Childcare has kept its median fee at 17% below national figure (at $475) for the last two years. For a low-income family with household income of $2,000 and two young preschool children in NTUC Childcare centre, the monthly childcare fees would take up nearly one-quarter (23.75%) of the household expenses after the Government subsidy.”
13. “At the NDC, many unions re-surfaced their concerns that the current Government subsidies are inadequate for members in the lower income group, and they have asked for NTUC to highlight this issue to the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Finance,” added Ms Adeline Sum. She continued, “Because of these concerns, the labour movement set up the NTUC Childcare Bright Horizons Trust Fund in October 2006 to provide financial assistance to low-income families for their children’s preschool education as part of the labour movement’s aim to create a more inclusive society.”
NTUC Childcare Bright Horizons Trust Fund
14. The NTUC Childcare Bright Horizons Trust Fund (BHTF) aims to help defray childcare fees and other school-related expenses; and allow children from low-income families to undertake learning support programmes to reach the general education standard of their cohort. Since its inception, the BHTF has helped 407 children on fees assistance, and 174 children were enrolled in Read-to-Reach programme, an English literacy supplementary programme. The fund will continue to implement more schemes to assist children from low-income families and enhance the quality of preschool education.
15. In 2008, the fund will support the introduction of a new learning approach called the Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) approach that will teach children mind-processing skills on learning which will put them in good stead as lifelong learners in a world where knowledge changes rapidly. MLE will be implemented in all 40 NTUC Childcare centres by 2009.
16. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Childcare, Ms Ho Yin Fong said, “Research studies show that lower-income families’ children benefit substantially from quality preschool programmes that have a heavy focus on language and cognitive development. The Bright Horizons Trust Fund ensures that no child is deprived from preschool education and is left behind in the pursuit of knowledge.”
NTUC Childcare Year-End Charity Gala Concert
17. NTUC Childcare organised a charity gala concert with a cast of more than 700 children from its centres to raise funds for BHTF on 9 November 2007. It was attended by a 1,500-strong audience with NTUC Secretary-General and Minister, Prime Minister Office Mr Lim Swee Say as the Guest-of-Honour. Chairman of OCBC Bank, Dr Cheong Choong Kong was the Special Guest who also played a special role in the musical show titled “Alice – The Musical”.
18. The fund-raising concert raised over $200,000, supported by NTUC affiliated unions and social enterprises[3], as well as parents of the graduating children. OCBC Bank pledged additional $250,000 to the BHTF at the concert, making them the single largest external donor to the fund with a total commitment of $700,000.
19. Head of Group Corporate Communications of OCBC Bank, Ms Koh Ching Ching said, “OCBC is proud to be associated with NTUC Childcare and the NTUC Childcare Bright Horizons Trust Fund's efforts to offer quality pre-school education and to improve literacy among the children of NTUC members. We see this support as a natural extension of our partnership with NTUC to improve the lives of the working community.”
Conclusion
20. Besides the announced initiatives, FDU will work closely with the NTUC social enterprises within the labour movement and more external partners to introduce more and new initiatives to meet the work, life and play needs of working women.
Ms Adeline Sum
Director, Family Development Unit
National Trades Union Congress
and Chief Executive Officer
NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited
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About National Trades Union Congress
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national confederation of trade unions in the industrial, service and public sectors representing 500,000 workers in Singapore. NTUC comprises 63 affiliated unions, 6 affiliated taxi associations, 9 co-operatives and 6 related organisations. NTUC’s objectives are to help Singapore stay competitive and workers remain employable for life; to enhance the social status and well-being of workers; and to build a strong, responsible and caring labour movement. NTUC's vision is to be an inclusive labour movement for all collars, all ages and all nationalities. For more details on NTUC, please visit our website at www.ntuc.org.sg
About NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited
The NTUC Childcare Group has 30 years of experience in providing quality early childhood care and education programmes, and has the largest pool of 18 full time early childhood professionals with Master and Doctoral degrees in Singapore. The Group focuses mainly on pre-school education and professional development of preschool teachers. Under the pre-school education arm, the Group offers a range of services that meet the needs of different groups of parents with NTUC Childcare’s network of 40 centres, the 4 centres by The Little Skool-House International, and The Caterpillar’s Cove.
About NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Limited
NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Limited was set up in 1992 to help moderate the cost of healthcare in Singapore through promoting and providing quality healthcare services at affordable rates. Currently, the Co-operative operates 40 Unity Healthcare Pharmacies, 13 dental clinics, 7 medical clinics and 2 Traditional Chinese Medicine clinics.
About Mummy & Me
The Mummy & Me affinity group was established on 1 July 2006 with the goal of providing parents of young children, especially mothers, with a platform to connect with other parents to share their experiences through the various stages of parenthood. Set up by NTUC Link, it recognises the needs and sacrifices make by many parents, in particular mothers, in bringing up their children. Mummy & Me organises educational workshops, parenting programmes, outings, exclusive events and tips-sharing forums for its members.
About NTUC Club
Established in 1986, NTUC Club provides value-for-money entertainment and recreational facilities to all. Today, the Club has grown into one of the largest entertainment and leisure group in Singapore and has repositioned itself as a one-stop entertainment cum lifestyle provider. Over the years, it has expanded to include a world class theme park (Escape Theme Park); Singapore’s largest water theme park (Wild Wild Wet); three holiday resorts - Costa Sands Resort (Downtown East), Costa Sands Resort (Pasir Ris) and Costa Sands Resort (Sentosa) - five clubhouses (Happy Days, Jest D'Place, Union Square, DXO and Scarlet City); the Spa @ Aranda and a one-stop recreation cum lifestyle complex (Downtown East).
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[1] Source: “Employed Residents Aged Fifteen Years and Over by Employment Status and Sex” as at June 2006, Labour Force Survey of Singapore, Ministry of Manpower.
[2] Source: “Statistics on Childcare Services” as at end of October 2007, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.
[3] They include: NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative Limited, NTUC Club, NTUC Thrift & Loan Co-operative Limited, DBS Staff Union, Kindergarten and Childcare Centres’ Staff Union, and Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union.
