Call for wider childcare services

The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations yesterday presented a manifesto to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi highlighting the services needed to create greater gender equality on the occasion of Women's Day being marked today.

The Care Services Manifesto urges the EU and individual countries to invest more in care services, especially in children's care.

"We cannot have women who have to choose between having children and a career," the chairman of the MCWO, Anna Borg, said.

Countries are being urged to achieve the Barcelona childcare targets of providing childcare to at least 90 per cent of children between three years and the mandatory school age and 35 per cent of under three-year-olds by 2010.

Employers and unions are being called upon to share the responsibility of providing care services and adopt measures to raise female participation in the labour market.

It was important, Dr Gonzi said, that women are able to make the choice to get a job, and when they do, find the support services to help them balance work and the family.

Although Malta had good services compared to other countries, it was important to improve.

The manifesto - which was presented to the European Women's Lobby by the MCWO during a seminar last month - calls on the EU and member countries to make paternal leave non-transferable between parents.

Men should take paternal leave so that they become more responsible about childcare, Ms Borg said.

Parents are given a quota of paternal leave, which can be distributed in any way they like, the Prime Minister noted. However, Ms Borg said it was important to get men more involved in childcare.

Children are the responsibility of both parents, he said, adding that it was good to come up with ways to encourage men to take a more active role.

Dr Gonzi urged the MCWO to forward suggestions for the next budget.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party women's association said in a statement that this year the country was marking 60 years since women voted for the first time in the 1947 election.

Association president Myriam Spiteri Debono said the role of women in society has since changed, but everybody recognised that despite advances, more needed to be done before women really felt full members of society.

The association believes the time has come to remove the 20-hour a week threshold before part-time workers qualify for benefits because this clause, it holds, is being abused by employers.

She also underscored the importance of regulating the rights of unmarried couples who are in a steady relationship, since many women were ending up without any maintenance support once the relationship was terminated.