PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT SCHEME IN CIVIL SERVICE

PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT SCHEME IN CIVIL SERVICE: 9.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether he can provide an update on the Part-time Employment Scheme in the civil service and what efforts are being made to promote it; (b) how many civil servants have taken advantage of this scheme; and (c) what is the profile of those who took advantage of this scheme in 2006.

The Minister for Defence (Mr Teo Chee Hean) (for the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): The Part-time Employment Scheme in the Civil Service has evolved over the years. It was first introduced in March 1987 for married female officers with young children to work half time, ie, 21 hours a week so that they can have more time for childcare. In 1996, it was extended to all re-employed officers who retired at the compulsory retirement

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age. Since January 2004, part-time employment has been made available to all civil servants, regardless of gender or marital status.

Part-time officers receive pro-rated salaries, bonuses and benefits. Upon return to full-time work, their salary and benefits will be the same as those of similar full-time officers.

The part-time scheme has been positioned as one of many flexible work arrangements we offer in the Civil Service. It has been a useful recruitment and retention tool to better meet the needs of individuals and the agencies. Over the years, the Civil Service has made the scheme more flexible by increasing the part-time work hour options. A person on the part-time scheme can choose to work from 11 to 36 hours per week. The scheme enables civil servants who are not able to work full time to balance their work and family or other personal commitments.

There were 336 civil servants on the part-time employment scheme in 2006. The latest figures in mid-September this year show that we now have 466 civil servants on the part-time employment scheme. The majority of officers on the part-time employment scheme are from the Education Service, Management Executive and Corporate Support Schemes of Service. 87% of them are married women and a large number of these chose to work part-time for childcare and family reasons.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, I would like to ask the Minister a few supplementary questions. First, I would like to ask why are the numbers so small. 466 in 2007 and 336 in 2006 are indeed very small, compared to the large number of civil servants. The Civil Service is one of the largest employers in Singapore. My next question is, in view of this, whether the Ministry has done any study to

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determine what are the reasons and whether there is a need to review the scheme. Perhaps, the scheme is now no longer as relevant as it used to be. There is a need to review the scheme. My final question is: what more can be done by the Civil Service to encourage supervisors to make it easier for civil servants to make use of this scheme?

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Sir, there are a number of flexible work employment schemes. The Member asked specifically about Part-time Employment Scheme. So my answer has been based on the Part-time Employment Scheme. But we have other flexible work arrangements as well, for example, we have the No Pay Leave Scheme for childcare, and we have some 3,600 civil servants who take no pay leave each year for various reasons. So that is quite a large number. We also have flexible work arrangements which allow civil servants to adjust the office start and end times so that they can come at times which are more congenial for, say, their family arrangement. So there are some of these other schemes at work as well, apart from the Part-time Employment Scheme.