By Li Xueying

DESPITE the buzz over shared responsibility, paternity leave for dads was missing in the basket of new Government offerings to encourage parenthood.

This, despite the introduction of an extra month of maternity leave, raising it to four months.

One reason why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not introduce the widely-expected incentive at the National Day Rally is the feedback that the Government had received from women.

They had indicated they would prefer the extra month of leave to be given to them, rather than to their spouses.

Senior Minister of State (Finance and Transport) Lim Hwee Hua, a key member of the National Population Committee, told The Straits Times on Sunday, after the rally: 'When we were looking at this issue and doing public consultations, women said they want to spend more time with their babies.'

Some analysts suspect there may be a second reason at play: economics.

In Singapore, it would be more costly to allow men to take a month off work than it would be to allow women to do so, said companies and human resource experts, pointing to the bigger pool of men in the workforce.

Official statistics show that men form 57 per cent of the 1.9 million people in the resident workforce of Singaporeans and permanent residents. That works out to 1.1 million.

In contrast, women workers add up to 819,000.

Also, the higher salaries of men suggest they are holding more senior positions of responsibility. Men, on average, earned $4,335 a month last year. Women received $3,148, which is 27 per cent less.

This means the impact of men taking time off could hit companies' operations harder.

It is a sentiment expressed by companies such as Lam Soon, makers of products like the Knife brand cooking oil. It has more men in senior positions.

Said its executive director Whang Shang Yin: 'It's more costly (to have paternity leave).

'For the smaller local companies, the absence of managers is something that is bound to have an impact. The absence of the management direction will be felt.'

Still, about half of private-sector employers voluntarily give paternity leave.

It is most common in the information and communications sector, where about 84 per cent give the perk to their rank- and-file employees.

In contrast, only around 26 per cent in the construction sector do the same, Manpower Ministry figures show. The report does not say how many days of leave are given.

Mr Desmond Hill, president of the Singapore Contractors Association, defended his industry, noting that 90 per cent of its workers are men.

'There is the element of costs, and other disruption costs that are not tangible.

'Yes, we have not been so forward- looking. If there is a general move in the country, then we'll all move and make the change. But if you ask companies to volunteer, it's always difficult.'

He added: 'We may not have paternity leave, but we're always accommodating when workers need time off.'

It is even more difficult for small and medium enterprises, noted Mr Teng Theng Dar, chief executive officer of the Singapore Business Federation.

'In Singapore, we don't carry spares. One person out is a very painful process. So we need more time to study how this can be facilitated. It is good to be a hero, but better to be careful,' he said.

Besides, added Mr David Sim, chief executive officer of medical device company Healthstats, with a laugh: 'In Singapore's culture, I doubt many men want to stay behind for so long. They'd hanker to be back at work, especially with the mother-in-law at home!'

The executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, Mr Koh Juan Kiat, observed that paternity leave is 'embedded' in the six days of child-care leave and six days of unpaid infant-care leave that both mums and dads will soon be entitled to.

So is paternity leave out of the question here? Mrs Lim said it remained on the table.

'This is a work in progress, and the Government will have to continue to facilitate this. This is not the final word on the matter.

'We're not closing that option of paternity leave off,' the Senior Minister of State told The Straits Times.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Aug 20, 2008.