MCESD highlights importance of childcare services to help increase workforce

A working group of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) discussed proposals and ways on how to implement family friendly measures but failed to discuss maternity leave.

This was revealed during the Family Affairs Committee, chaired by Nationalist MP Jean Pierre Farrugia.

The parliamentary committee yesterday evening looked in to ways how family friendly measures could be extended from the public to the private sector and other measures which would help increase the workforce and at the same time encourage more couples to have children.

But the MPs who sit on the committee could not understand how a working group that was to discuss family friendly measures could leave out the issue of maternity leave.

Maternity leave is a hot issue, especially since the European Union turned down calls to extend the minimum threshold from 14 to 20 weeks. Even though Malta was one of the countries to vote against the EU threshold, it was Finance Minister Tonio Fenech who announced the extension to 16 weeks - to increase to 18 weeks in 2013 - last week.

During several seminars held during the year, women confederations and trade unions voiced their support to the extension, while businesses and employers held their reserves.

So it was not surprising that the Finance Minister only informed the MCESD about government's plan to increase the maternity leave on Friday, just three days before budget day.

Addressing the committee, MCESD chairman Sonny Portelli said that the working group had three issues on the agenda: "The working group emphasised the need to expand childcare centre and after school services, discussed a number of incentives to extend family friendly measures practised in the public sector to the private and discussed the introduction of certificates where an enterprise would benefit if they upheld such measures."

He added that parental leave would be discussed Friday week and see how the maternity leave extension could be implemented in the best possible way, reducing as much the impact on enterprises.

Also representing the MCESD were economists Gordon Cordina and Amanda Borg.

The guests added that the MCESD working group discussed family friendly measures in which the public sector was better at than the private: "Maternity leave was not discussed as it is the same in both sectors."

Giving a general picture of the island, Cordina said the island had two main challenges: to increase the workforce and increase the fertility rate.

"The working population in Malta is 56%, relatively low when compared to EU member states. If our country wants to achieve the 2020 target, some 15,000 more need to be employed," he said.

However, Cordina warned that at the rate Malta was going, the island was closer at losing workers than increasing its workforce. Malta's aging population is another sensitive issue as fewer babies are born.

"Malta's fertility rate has gone down to three children for every 10 adults. This is well below the replacement ration required to keep a healthy workforce. It also means that in the future there would not be enough workers to support the elderly," Cordina warned.

Borg added that while female participation is on the increase, 39%, it is still beyond the EU's 59%. The working group highlighted that more affordable childcare centres with flexible hours should be opened, as well as the need to extend after school services.

"The availability and affordability of pre-school care is important. These should provide a flexible service which cover long hours to provide for different work schedules," Borg said.

The working group also recommended that the cost of such centres would be of 5% of the household disposable income. When compared to member states, Malta makes relatively less use of childcare centres, mainly because of their costs.

"The lack of childcare centres and lack of sufficient quality leads to the high fees," Portelli added.

Borg said that after school services would not only support working parents but would also benefit the children: "It should be seen in light of the child's holistic development and EduCare. These hours would extend during the holidays and should be available in public, independent and Church schools."

A community-based childcare service was also proposed.