Missing crèches block young mothers’ return to work

When she decided to return to work, Rebecca, mother of a 1-year-old girl, was in a dilemma. With her daughter beginning to walk, she could not burden her ageing parents to take care of the child. 

She thus wanted a job that allowed her to visit the child at least once in between her work routine. She finally had to settle for a work-from-home option. Rebecca could have opted for a full-time job, had companies complied with the Maternity Benefit Act, 2017.

The Act mandates having a crèche facility in companies with more than 50 employees in the office or very close to the office premises. However, while many Central Government offices have followed suit, private and State government offices have failed to accord the necessary seriousness to this, said K Shanmugavelayutham, convenor of the NGO, Tamil Nadu Forum for Crèche and Childcare Services (TN FORCES).

“The problem is the lack of a monitoring mechanism. The Labour Welfare Officer should be implementing it, but they don’t take this seriously,” he said. Even the workers’ unions focus on pensions and pay scales. “This is a gender-based priority and it is always pushed to the backburner,” he added.

A separate facility for children on school campuses has been a long-standing demand of the teachers in the government schools in the State, said P K Ilamaran, president, Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association. 

“We demanded it in 2009 when we approached the government to have at least one room in every school dedicated for childcare.  The children might have relatives to take care at home. But nothing can be a substitute a mother’s care and attention. Why not help the women have such a benefit, even as they teach and care for other children?”

Surekha Raj, Managing Director, Skylark HR solutions Private Limited, observed that such facilities are a blessing for employees. Many IT parks have roped in franchises like Amelio to set up facilities at a subsidised cost. “This is a win -win situation, as the employees avail these services and the companies don’t incur any additional cost either.”

Citing the crèches at the Income Tax and Customs departments, Shanmugavelayutham pointed out that setting up such facilities proactively has helped even those from outside when there aren’t enough children of in-house staff enrolled.

Surekha said that there are logistic challenges aplenty in setting it up. “Even if a company has about 50 employees who are women, there will be a handful of children availing these services at a given time. The company should still make a huge investment to have the infrastructure in place and appoint staff. They probably feel it is not worth it.”

She added that the work ethics in the country is also yet to evolve like in the developing countries. While this is of great help for the employees, the management wonders if the staff member is worth the additional burden or just let her go, she said.

However, Shanmugavelayutham pointed out that this was a matter of right. “It is their duty to have a policy that is women-friendly. Unions and NGOs should demand these are made available.”

With her parents living in another city, Reema R, a media professional, had to leave her one-year old daughter in a private crèche near her house in Velachery when she resumed work after the maternity break. The monthly charge is about Rs 20,000, but as it has CCTV coverage, trained staff and hygienic premises, the couple does not mind spending extra money. “We cannot compromise on her safety and quality of care,” she added.

Padma Kumar, founder-director of Grandma and Grandpa International Early Learning Centre and After School, who takes in children as young as four months old says that parents don’t want to compromise on safety and hygiene. “Hygiene, safety and cleanliness are paramount for them,” she added.

While there are guidelines in the form of code of regulations for playschools and crèches that include fire safety, building and sanitation standards, the quality of care is questionable, added Shanmugavelayutham. “No crèche can operate without certification from Directorate of School Education. However, there are no guidelines about qualification of the staff or the training they should undergo.”

This scheme comes under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), aims to ensure protection and development of children in the age group of six months to six years. The children are placed under the care of trained workers, and provided three meals, recreational and educational facilities. About 944 crèches in the State are under the administrative control of the ICDS