NEWS ASIA
SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE CONSIDERS SHARED POOL OF PARENTAL LEAVE BETWEEN PARENTS MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENTS (MPS) in Singapore are calling on the government to provide more parental leave, and a more equal split of such leave between mothers and fathers. Specifically, Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Chia urged the government to adopt a shared parental care leave scheme that would offer parents a total of 24 weeks of government-paid leave, instead of the current 16-week maternity and two-week paternity leave entitlement. This will result in a more equitable distribution of statutory parental leave and help reshape societal perceptions on gender roles, said the MP.
JAPAN
HITACHI JOINS JAPAN’S 4-DAY WORK WEEK DRIVE EMPLOYEES OF JAPANESE
MALAYSIA
MALAYSIA PASSES BILL TO INCREASE MATERNITY LEAVE FROM 60 TO 98 DAYS MALAYSIA HAS PASSED an employment bill that will oversee the increase in maternity leave from 60 to 98 days, in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention. The bill, according to Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim, will ensure women employees get enough rest and form strong bonds with their child. “Besides that, it is to take care of the safety and health of women workers as well as the proper growth of children, and encouraging women’s participation in the labour market,” he added.
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HRM ASIA.COM
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 2
multinational conglomerate Hitachi can now change and organise their schedules so that they can choose to work only four days a week. Describing this as a strategy to attract talent by offering a more flexible way of working, Hitachi says employees can now choose to work 9-10 hours between Monday and Thursday for example, instead of the current required 7 hours and 45 mins, in return for a day off on Friday. Employees can also choose to work longer hours in the first half of the month and take some time off at the end of the month.
