‘Free childcare and 2,550 jobs... in one easy move’

If the Government provides free childcare for all it will create 2,550 jobs and rake in more money than it spends, according to the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin.

Free childcare is the UĦM’s main proposal for this year’s Budget and is based on a detailed study of Malta’s female employment ratio compared to the EU average.

Statistics show that Malta’s low female workforce is mostly due to those women in the lowest education bracket who also have children. “Work does not pay for these women,” UĦM general secretary Josef Vella said.

This is mainly because their childcare bills eat away at income. The problem will become even worse over the next few decades when grandparents will be retiring later, preventing them from helping out with babysitting.

By providing free care to another 3,000 children, at least 2,000 women are likely to join the workforce, according to UĦM’s figures.

These, together with the 550 jobs created by the childcare centres themselves, would result in more taxes, making the proposal self-sustainable.

The UĦM’s workings claim that the Government’s expenditure would add up to €14.5 million but its revenue in direct and indirect taxes would work out at €15.4 million. “We’re not saying there won’t be challenges. Even getting a permit for a childcare centre might be difficult. But we’re saying this is a workable solution that needs to be assessed from an accounts and economics point of view.”

The UĦM also called for the Government to make it a right, by law, for people to demand reduced hours, to ensure family-friendly measures are actually available for those who need them.

The UĦM’s proposals are all centred on Malta’s ageing demographics and the need for the country to have sustainable solutions.

In fact, it also called for social partners to reach an agreement on second-pillar pensions by 2015, to ensure employers begin contributing to the pension system.