I RAISED an eyebrow at the goodies our Government is dishing out to encourage women to have more babies - one extra month of paid maternity leave on top of the existing three months, and extension of two days of childcare leave to six days.

If a would-be mother eligible for these two new incentives were working in a company, what would her employer and colleagues think?

My guess is that they would not be happy.

In Singapore's fast-paced working environment, most companies try to keep labour costs low to remain competitive

There is no allowance for idle or excess labour.

While the employee is on maternity leave, the employer either has to get extra help (which increases overheads) or delegate the absentee's duties (which increases workloads).

The extended leave means the duration of these two options gets extended too.

Is this fair to her employer and colleagues who are covering for her? This might sound selfish, but when you have to deal with higher costs and increased workloads, there might be little room for sympathy.

My male colleague pointed out that the incentives do not benefit his wife, who quit her job to take care of their two kids. Having said that, the fact is that this policy targets working mothers.

But I am afraid that this may lead to more discrimination against working women who want to have children.

A good measure would be raising the quality and quantity of child-care centres, along with more subsidies and rebates.

Ultimately, if a woman is ready to have a baby, does four months' leave really matter?

Ms Laura Ng Lai Sun

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