Childcare: over priced and not meeting demands.
During the economical recession the need to return to work is a growing need, especially for mothers returning to work after maternity leave. But how are you to care for your children and go to work at the same time? The answer you would think is rather simple…childcare. But its not that easy, it comes with a cost.
Demand for formal child care in Australia is growing fast. According to ABS’s 2005 child care data:
“Over the three year period from June 2002 to June 2005, the numbers of children aged 0-11 years who attended before and/or after school care increased from 171,000 to 227,000, an increase of 56,000 or 33%.” According to parents responses there is an additional requirement for formal childcare for 188, 400 children. Of these 33% said that they did not use childcare systems because there were no available spaces in their area. 10% said that there no such services existed and 9% said that they were unsure weather such a service was available.”
The ABS figures also suggest that the amount of mothers returning to work after birth is increasing; therefore there is a growing reliance on flexible working hours to meet childcare needs.
“The most frequently used arrangements were flexible working hours (41%) and permanent part-time work (25%). Overall, employed mothers were considerably more likely to make use of these types of work arrangements (73%) than employed fathers (34%). In couple families, 73% of employed mothers reported normally using these work arrangements compared to 71% of employed mothers in one parent families. In couple families, 33% of employed fathers used these work arrangements compared to 69% of employed fathers in one parent families.”
Unsurprisingly childcare responsibilities continue to fall on women:
“The mother used work arrangements to help care for her children in almost three quarters (74%) of families with an employed mother, an increase from 70% in 2002. In comparison, 34% of fathers used work arrangements to help care for their children. This had increased from 30% in 2002.”
With childcare responsibilities falling on women it makes it difficult to return to work. The sex discrimination minister has recommended a new maternity leave scheme to focus on achieving a greater balance between paid work and family responsibilities.
Although the need for this scheme is undeniable, there are concerns that the Rudd government will not continue to encourage this development. We need to look at the issue of work and children from birth to school and consider a stable system that is available at a reasonable cost for everyone.
