Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said in Parliament on Monday that providing childcare leave on a per-child basis may hurt the employability of some parents.

First, this inherently acknowledges that discrimination against working parents does happen in the workplace.

Second, the Government should legislate against such discrimination instead of essentially supporting it.

Third, by putting employers' concerns over that of the employee, the Government is reinforcing the perception that parenthood is detrimental to employment.

This goes counter to Singapore's efforts to support family-building and raise overall fertility rate.

Kenny Ching (Dr)