Workaholic and Mydaemon would cheer! Our new Prime Minister Lee has just announced a 5-day work week for the Civil Service in his National Day Rally speech.

Some of the other changes which is very petinent to us commoners:
1) 12 weeks maternity leave, extra costs absorbed by govt.
2) Infant care subsidy, which will be higher than childcare subsidy
3) Decreased maid levy for families with children <12 years
4) Childcare leave for parents with children <7 years - 2 days a year.
5) Tax incentive for first 4 children

I hope I got all the details right. But notice something? All the above are targeted to facilitate a better environment for couples to have children. They are reeeally concerned about the decreasing birthrate. I would cheer, except that I'm not a 'couple' yet.

Before PM Lee announced the 5-day Civil Service work week, he mentioned that he had resisted and rejected many such proposals for years. Then, he acknowledged that it's now necessary. It signifies to me that he is a PM willing to accept past mistakes and to make changes. Cheers!

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:00 PM