MORE Singaporeans may be saying they want to get married, but how can they when some cannot even find the time to enjoy a honeymoon?

In asking this question last night, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng told of a young couple who, when asked where they would be heading for their honeymoon, said that it would be deferred because of work commitments.

'So work dictates life, and young people seem to be caught up in working long hours. Is it necessary to work such long, late hours?' asked Mr Lim, who is also an MP for Jurong GRC.

Speaking last night at a Mother's Day dinner organised by the Jurong Central Grassroots Organisations, Mr Lim encouraged employers and employees to relook the culture of long working hours and be more family-friendly.

'We should go for high productivity, not long hours,' he said to 900 guests at the Orchid Country Club.

A survey released on Monday by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports found that more Singaporeans wanted to get married and that most of those who already were wanted two or more children.

While Mr Lim said this was encouraging, the real question was whether enough was being done to encourage couples to have more children.

While there was the Baby Bonus scheme as well as a shift towards the five-day working week, there are still areas to be worked on.

The first is for employers to discuss how to be more family-friendly.

This includes giving staff members more time to socialise and relooking the daily grind of long working hours.

The second area is in matching work demands and family time.

In Sweden, for example, mothers are allowed to work from 8am to 4pm.

'We should not simply stop thinking because it is hard to work out solutions,' said Mr Lim.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 10, 2008.