WHEN Mr Callan Tham's wife gave birth to their first child six months ago, he went on unpaid leave for 1 1/2 months to help care for their son.
The 33-year-old, who worked as an information-technology engineer at the time, also used up most of his 17 days of annual leave.
And when he returned to work, he struggled to juggle work and family life, and had to constantly swop shift schedules with his former colleagues.
Mr Tham told my paper: "Thanks to the unpaid leave I took, I could be involved in (my son's) growth. I was there when he slowly began to recognise faces."
A recent survey commissioned by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) found that 91 per cent of the 1,001 respondents - comprising working parents - supported the notion that paternity leave be mandated by law.
From the survey findings, Aware recommended that a mandatory paid paternity leave of two weeks be implemented.
They also called on employers to be more supportive of the parenting duties of male employees.
The survey also showed that 57 per cent of the respondents wanted the last month of the four-month maternity leave for new mothers to be converted into parental leave, which can be taken by either the father or the mother.
Nine out of 10 also felt that single and unwed parents should get the same childcare and infant-care benefits as married parents.
Also, 79.7 per cent of respondents felt that there should be at least six days of paternity leave, with 44.2 per cent opting for 11 days or more.
"Having more support so that I can spend time with my son will not only strengthen my bond with him, but also my marriage," said Mr Callan Tham.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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