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Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Mrs Josephine Teo to PQ on Lactation Rooms at Offices

Employment practices

NOTICE PAPER NO. 237 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 01 FEB 2021

QUESTION NO. 355 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Ms Rachel Ong

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether sanctions can be imposed on companies that require nursing mothers to return to the office without provision of appropriate lactation rooms; (b) what specific measures will the Ministry take to support the implementation of Flexible Working Arrangements (FWAs) for nursing mothers; (c) whether the Work Life Grant (WLG) application deadline that closed on 18 August 2020 will be re-opened with modifications to the kind of FWAs that it will support; and (d) whether the WLG supports the set-up of lactation rooms.

Answer:

  1. The Government recognises the importance of supporting nursing mothers who work. First, we support employers to offer Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) to help all workers, including nursing mothers, better manage their work and family needs. Second, we require and support building owners to provide lactation rooms for the benefit of nursing mothers who have to be at their workplaces.
  2. FWAs such as flexi-time and work-from-home arrangements enable all workers, including nursing mothers, to meet both their personal and professional goals. Together with the Tripartite Alliance on Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), the Ministry of Manpower and our tripartite partners promote the adoption of FWAs by (i) recognising progressive employers through the Tripartite Standard on FWAs, (ii) developing and sharing an FWA implementation guide and videos, and (iii) raising awareness of FWAs through engagements and advertisements.
  3. In 2019, about 85% of employers offered some form of FWA. These numbers have since increased further over the past year with work-from-home remaining as the default mode of working. As the provision of FWAs is increasingly normalised and made prevalent at workplaces, we assess that there is no need to reopen the Work-Life Grant for now. We are implementing recommendations by the Citizens’ Panel on Work-Life Harmony. These measures will further enhance the provision and take-up of FWAs.
  4. Today, the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Code on Accessibility requires specific building types that are frequented by the general public to have at least one lactation room. This applies to both new, as well as existing buildings undergoing addition and alteration works that need BCA’s approval. The Code was recently enhanced to require even more building types to provide lactation rooms.
  5. For eligible private buildings constructed before these requirements were in place, BCA’s Accessibility Fund provides funding support for building owners to construct lactation rooms.
  6. We are mindful that imposing sanctions on employers that require nursing mothers to return physically to workplaces without lactation rooms may have unintended consequences. For example, employers may have reservations about employing nursing mothers, or women in general, if they are unable to provide a lactation room due to genuine space constraints at the workplace.
  7. Together with tripartite partners, MOM will continue to advocate for the implementation of FWAs to support all workers, including nursing mothers.