MEDICAL BENEFITS TO FEMALE CIVIL SERVANTS

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider giving equal medical benefits to the spouses and families of all female civil servants as presently accorded to male civil servants.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau): Mr Speaker, Sir, the question of extending medical benefits to dependants of women officers has been raised in this House since 1976.

I would like to reiterate the principle that medical benefits are granted to dependants of main breadwinners. Traditionally, these are men. However, women officers who are divorced, widowed or granted a decree of judicial separation are granted dependant benefits also. Similarly, such benefits are also granted to dependants of women whose husbands are too ill to work.

As I have said earlier this year in response to a similar question from the MP for Yuhua, medical benefits is one aspect which will be considered when we review the whole remuneration package of the civil service.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, I have the following suggestions for the Minister to reconsider his decision:

(1) The principle of equal pay for equal work has been in force in the civil service since 1962, and the pay consists of salary or wage and non-wage benefits, which include medical benefits.

(2) Better medical benefits, ie, Class A or B1, are granted to civil servants in Divisions I and II as compared to Divisions III and IV. In 1991, females formed 52.3% of the civil service as compared to males who comprised 47.7%. Also, on the whole, the female civil servant is more highly qualified than the male civil servant as the following statistics will show.

Mr Speaker: Order. Dr Soin, are you making a speech?

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: No, Sir. I am pointing out that in Divisions I and II, 13.8% are females, and 21.6% are males.

Mr Speaker: Dr Soin, could you ask your supplementary questions?

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Yes, Sir. In the civil service, family welfarism will be promoted if the medical benefits are hitched on to the women's salary rather than the men's salary.

One more point why the Minister should re-consider his decision is that women are encouraged to ---

Mr Speaker: Order. Question time is not the time to make points and speeches. Could you ask your questions?

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: All right. Since women are being encouraged to marry down, then what the Minister has said about men being the main breadwinner is not necessarily true.

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not disputing much of what Dr Soin has said. I am merely stating that the existing package of civil service remuneration contains this particular requirement. I have also said that the issue of civil service remuneration is under review, and the question of medical benefits is one of the factors under consideration.