Chapter V. Child-care and family services and facilities and help in the exercise of family responsibilities

192. Measures taken to make the workplace more responsive to the needs of workers with family responsibilities can go a long way toward improving the employment and career opportunities of the workers concerned. But these cannot suffice. If satisfactory arrangements cannot be made for their families to be cared for adequately despite the time they devote to work, persons who have family responsibilities will be effectively prevented from joining the workforce. If the time and energy required to perform household tasks result in undue fatigue and stress, they will be disadvantaged on the job. Indeed, as pointed out during the Conference discussion which preceded the adoption of the standards, the aim of promoting equality of treatment between men and women with family responsibilities, and between such workers and other workers, should be achieved not only in terms of working conditions and vocational training but also in terms of the facilities available to them to discharge their responsibilities in all aspects of their lives. The view was expressed that the improvement of working and living conditions for workers with family responsibilities should be sought by adequate social policies, including measures to be provided by the public authorities.

193. Article 5 of Convention No. 156 thus calls for all measures compatible with national conditions and possibilities to be taken: (a) to take account of the needs of workers with family responsibilities in community planning, and (b) to develop or promote community services, public or private, such as child-care and family services and facilities. Part V of Recommendation No. 165 (Paragraphs 24 to 26) suggests various measures, mentioned below, that may be taken to this end. In view of the possible impact of daily family chores on workers' performance, Part VII of the Recommendation (Paragraphs 32 to 34) outlines a further series of measures for the improvement of living conditions, which are particularly helpful for workers with family responsibilities.

194. While the reports examined by the Committee indicate that there has been significant progress in a number of countries as concerns the provision of child-care facilities, the information available appears to indicate that such facilities have not necessarily been established in response to the needs of workers with family responsibilities but rather to cater for a more general demand for those services. In addition, only very few reports have indicated that the authorities responsible for community planning take into account in a systematic way the needs of workers with family responsibilities.

Community planning

195. Article 5(a) of the Convention, which calls for the needs of workers with family responsibilities to be taken into account in community planning, was adopted as a result of an amendment to the proposed texts, which did not include such a requirement. The Government members who proposed the amendment, which was supported by the Employers' and Workers' members, explained that their intention was to emphasize the contribution which could be made by the development of the social infrastructure to the solution of the problems faced by workers with family responsibilities in the labour market as well as to the promotion of a more equitable sharing of such responsibilities within the family.

196. In Australia, the Office of Local Government and the Australian Local Government Association have examined ways to rationalize administrative arrangements and functions in the delivery of federal programmes and are encouraging the involvement of local government in the planning, coordination and delivery of these programmes. Integrated local area planning will utilize the local knowledge and networks to improve child-care and family services. Local governments' role in improving access to housing, employment and services, and in encouraging the provision of work-based child care through joint ventures with the public and private sector, is also being investigated.

197. A number of countries have not indicated that the needs of workers with family responsibilities are taken into account in community planning. In some countries, (Endnote 1) there are no specific requirements to take account of workers with family responsibilities in community planning. One report (Endnote 2) states that workers with family responsibilities are not a target group in the government's community services planning; the government aims to meet the needs of the community as a whole. Other reports (Endnote 3) point out that the responsibility for community planning lies with local and regional governments. This may explain why other countries have nothing to report on efforts made at the central level. Information available to the Office indicates that in Belgium, the Minister in charge of Social Emancipation has launched a pilot programme with local communities for the better integration of family concerns in community planning. Under the programme, a day-nursery is expanding its hours to cater to the children of night workers; initiatives are being launched for the care of schoolchildren; and studies for the joint development of facilities between the communal authorities and local employers have been undertaken. The programme also includes on-call services to provide the assistance of trained nurses or unemployed women to families when children are sick; this illustrates the type of measures that are suggested in Part VII of the Recommendation, and discussed below.

Child-care and family services and facilities

Collection of information

198. In order to make the best possible use of resources, central or local authorities need to have detailed and up-to-date knowledge of quantitative and qualitative needs so as to plan effectively the development of services and facilities and to ensure that changing needs are identified and met. Paragraph 24 of the Recommendation provides that, with a view to determining the scope and character of the services and facilities needed, the competent authorities should (a) collect and publish adequate statistics on the number of workers with family responsibilities engaged in or seeking employment and on the number and age of their children and other dependants requiring care; and (b) ascertain, through systematic surveys conducted more particularly in local communities, the needs and preferences for child-care and family services and facilities.

199. A few countries (Endnote 4) report that statistics are collected in order to ascertain workers' needs for support facilities. In Australia, the National Child Care Survey has been conducted on a regular basis since 1969, now at three-year intervals; it provides planning agencies with information on the use and demand for child care up to the age of 12 years. Other sources of data include the Census of Commercial Long Day Care Centres and surveys on various topics, including time use, the family, employment benefits and household expenditure. The Persons Not in the Labour Force Survey looks, inter alia, at why child care prevents people from actively seeking work. Forthcoming surveys on Career Experience and Working Arrangements will include questions related to child care. In Canada, a national study on workers with family responsibilities was carried out by the members of the National Day-care Research Network in collaboration with Statistics Canada. The Canadian National Child-Care Study analyses the child-care needs and experiences of a large sample of families. The report of the working party will be used by the Government to develop policies and mechanisms to improve child care for working parents. Since 1986, the expansion of child-care facilities in relation to needs has been monitored in Sweden with the aid of an annual child-care survey using parental questionnaires. In the United States, recent information published includes a comprehensive review of child-care issues and a leaflet entitled "Dependent Care Options".

200. The reports submitted by a number of governments (Endnote 5) do not contain information on the action taken to collect and publish statistics or to carry out surveys, some of them stating that such statistics are not available. Other governments (Endnote 6) report that the national statistical office regularly collects and publishes information on population figures and carries out population censuses at longer intervals. Such information is used in the planning of social welfare programmes. Several countries report statistical programmes aimed at monitoring the child-care needs of single-parent and of large, underprivileged families or groups. Other countries collect information on available child-care places, but with reference to the needs of women workers rather than workers with family responsibilities. (Endnote 7) In the United Kingdom, the Department of Health collects and publishes annually statistics on the number of child-care services in England, on the basis of information supplied by local authorities, but it does not routinely collect information from parents about their use of child care. However, an ad hoc survey of a sample of parents, working and non-working, single and in couples, with children under 8 years old, was carried out in 1992. It covered the services used and in what combination, how satisfied parents were with the services being used, and their preferred and ideal choices.

Development and promotion of child-care and family services and facilities

201. In order to facilitate the implementation of Article 5(b) of the Convention, Paragraph 25 of the Recommendation calls on the competent authorities, in cooperation with the public and private organizations concerned, to take appropriate steps to ensure that child-care and family services and facilities meet workers' needs and preferences. Clause (a) provides that the competent authorities should encourage the establishment of plans for the systematic development of child-care and family services and facilities.

202. Only a limited number of reports provide detailed information on the measures taken to encourage the establishment of plans for the systematic development of child-care and family services and facilities.

203. In Australia, a needs-based planning database provides demand and supply statistics at the local area level. Decisions to allocate new child-care places follow a process which combines nationally consistent statistical analysis, qualitative information from the child-care industry and local knowledge. The Children's Services Programme conducts a regular census of funded child-care services and uses the information collected on the characteristics of users for future planning. A recently conducted review of federal child-care funding arrangements identified improved financial access of child care and increases in the supply of places, especially for babies, as points deserving further development in an otherwise well supported programme. In Canada, the provincial governments administer day-care programmes and coordinate policy development and programme planning for childhood services and community-based services to assist seniors and family care-givers who provide support and care for them. The federal Government shares the cost of services used by families in need. In British Columbia, a government-appointed task force on child care recommended increased and diversified funding based on a model of community-based child care; the Government increased its financial allocation for child care to provide financial support to communities to plan for and develop child-care options to meet local needs. In Manitoba, a worksite day-care capital grant has been available since 1989 to assist non-profit sponsors of worksite centres with capital costs. Worksite day care is defined as applying where a majority of children have parents or guardians who are employees of one industry or employer.

204. In Sweden, where child-care services and facilities are clearly part of the country's policy of equality of opportunity and treatment for workers with family responsibilities, the Parliament legislates on matters concerning the aims, expansion and financing of child care. The National Board of Health and Welfare and the county administrations are together responsible for supervising the pre-schools and other forms of child-care nationwide. The municipalities bear the day-to-day responsibility of supervising the expansion, running and development of facilities. The responsibility for building and running day-care centres also rests with the municipalities in Norway; the Government covers about 35 per cent of recurrent costs.

205. Several other countries report measures taken to develop child-care services and facilities within the community, without, however, making an explicit link with the needs of workers with family responsibilities. The Government of Cyprus reports that, in line with its policy to work in partnership with the community for the planning and implementation of services, the Department of Social Welfare Services cooperates closely with community organizations, local authorities and industrial organizations in order to expand day care. In Mauritius, the Export Processing Zone Labour Welfare Fund is used to set up child-care centres. In Spain, the central administration promotes the development of child-care facilities through cooperation agreements with the local authorities, which receive subsidies and are responsible for the operation of the programmes. However, the services are geared in priority to high-risk groups, children lacking satisfactory family care and single-parent families rather than workers with family responsibilities. Crèches cater for the children (under 6 years of age) of women workers; the children of men workers are admitted when the fathers have nobody to look after them. In Venezuela, the Ministry of Family Welfare and the Children's Foundation instituted a national programme to provide care for children. The central objective of the programme, which is needs-based and community-oriented, is to attend to the health and welfare of the child, while at the same time facilitating the mother's entry into the labour market.

206. In a number of countries, (Endnote 8) employers are statutorily obliged to set up facilities, normally when they employ a certain number of women. In Singapore, where a little over half of existing child-care centres are operated for profit, the Government assists employers and voluntary groups operating child-care centres through capital grants for the purchase of furniture and equipment and special tax treatment.

207. Voluntary action by employers in the provision of child-care services and facilities seems to be on the increase in some industrialized countries, (Endnote 9) as employers become more aware of their employees' needs in this connection. Employer-supported child care includes a range of services. Employers typically provide information and referral services, helping to match the employee's child-care needs with the services available in the community; voucher systems, i.e. a child-care subsidy paid to the employee to assist with child-care costs; and slot systems, whereby the employer makes arrangements with an established centre to reserve a number of places for the children of employees. Some may support direct services such as on-site or off-site child-care centres, or private home day-care agencies. In some cases, employers pool their resources to provide child-care services for working parents while sharing some of the costs. The needs of workers who work unconventional hours and whose children cannot be accommodated in facilities keeping traditional hours may be best met by employer-sponsored facilities. A case in point is hospitals; some large hospitals have taken initiatives in this field, as in the United States, where there are currently four hospitals providing 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year facilities. (Endnote 10)

208. To encourage employers to sponsor child care, the Australian federal Government has provided fee relief with child-care places since 1991 and plans to extend this form of assistance to family day-care from 1994. Much of the material published in the country on the issue of child care is addressed to employers in the form of information booklets or kits. In New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, independent Work and Child Care Advisory Services have been established to assist employers, unions and staff to examine child-care options and needs. In Canada, the Ontario Government has established an advisory service to help employers deal with the child-care concerns of their employees. The service is available through the local area offices of the Ministry of Community and Social Services. It publishes brochures containing case-studies to address the need for readily available descriptive material on child-care services supported by employers. The case-studies explain the reasons which prompted the employer to provide the service and describe the facilities available in terms of location, premises, capacity, staff, parents' fees, hours of operation, management and employer contribution. The Government of Ireland reports that it intends to stimulate the development of child-care services by employers individually and collectively, in partnership with public authorities. A working party comprising representatives from the Federation of Irish Employers, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the national Employment and Training Authority, the Departments of Health and Labour and the Irish expert on the EC Child Care Network was set up in 1990 to make recommendations on the development of child-care partnerships between parents, local employers and community groups.

209. In the United States, it is estimated that 25 to 30 per cent of working parents have some responsibility for an ageing relative. Employers, therefore, are also beginning to address employees' needs in connection with the care of elderly relatives. They may provide resource and referral services for elder care which help workers to become familiar with the services available in such areas as resources for medical or custodial care and legal information and counselling. Information is sometimes provided through seminars, support groups, hotlines and employee assistance programmes. Companies may also support local, adult day-care centres with financial or material contributions. Other ideas include adapting on-site child-care centres to cater to the needs of the elderly as well. In terms of financial assistance, companies may reimburse or subsidize the costs of employing visiting nurses to cope with the need for medical attention during the day or to cover some of the costs associated with hiring a care-giver so that workers can take a brief holiday from their caring responsibilities.

210. Very little information has been supplied concerning the involvement of trade unions in the provision of facilities to enable workers to cope with family responsibilities. In the United States, the Government reports that child care is provided through a combination of federal and state support, the assistance of private employers and trade unions and the initiative of individual parents. Besides setting up and operating child-care services themselves, trade unions can also promote their development through the collective bargaining process, an approach that is being promoted in Australia and the Netherlands. (Endnote 11)

Services and facilities available

211. Elaborating on the requirement, contained in Article 5(b) of the Convention, that the competent authorities should develop or promote community services, public or private, such as child-care services and facilities, Paragraph 25(b) of the Recommendation calls on these authorities, in cooperation with the public and private organizations concerned, to "themselves organize or encourage and facilitate the provision of such facilities, free of charge or at a reasonable charge in accordance with the workers' ability to pay, developed along flexible lines to meet the needs of children of different ages, of other dependants requiring care, and of workers with family responsibilities".

(a) Child care

212. Nearly all reports acknowledge that workers with family responsibilities need help to cope with the problem of child care. The involvement of the State in meeting that need differs. Some countries (e.g. Finland and Sweden) aim at giving parents freedom of choice, so that they can make the child-care arrangements which they themselves prefer. There must be good quality child care outside the home for those who want it, while those who prefer to stay at home while their children are small must be given economic possibilities of doing so. In contrast, government policy in other countries (e.g. the United Kingdom) emphasizes the responsibility of parents, and increasingly also of employers, to find and pay for child care, except when children and families are particularly in need of provision, on the grounds of welfare. Therefore, most services are not run by statutory bodies but by voluntary groups, private companies or employers, and there is no general subsidy from public funds to help with the cost of facilities for the care of workers' children. In other countries still, where facilities are provided by statutory bodies, by private operators and by charitable organizations or local groups, facilities run on a voluntary basis may also be eligible for public subsidy. In Australia, for instance, a special effort is made to address the child-care needs of students.

213. Many reports also note that child-care needs vary with the age of children. Although there are national differences in the age limits adopted, there is broad agreement that three groups of children require targeted care. For infants (from birth to ages 2 to 4) the emphasis is normally placed on health, hygiene and nutrition. Pre-primary-school children (after infancy and up to the beginning of primary education, between 5 and 7) may be accommodated in facilities that prepare children for primary schooling or in facilities that offer only care and play. School-age children require attention before and after normal school hours, during holidays and sometimes at meal times. Such a need is particularly felt in countries where the school-day is short (e.g. in Germany), and in countries, such as Belarus, where some schools run on a shift system with two of three groups attending for parts of the day, or in countries, such as Norway, where the younger children attend only for half of the day. In Panama, the facilities available care for children aged 1 to 4.

214. In a large number of countries, (Endnote 12) day care for children under the age of admission into primary school is organized on the basis of the children's ages. In general, facilities for older children are under the responsibility of the ministry of education and facilities for the younger children come under the health or welfare department.

215. In other countries, (Endnote 13) all children below school age are cared for in a single system of facilities. Children are divided into mixed age groups, since it is considered valuable for them to grow up with children of other ages. This arrangement also creates greater stability as children do not have to change groups. Extended sibling groups can include children of all pre-school ages and sometimes younger school children as well. In Sweden, such facilities typically operate around 12 hours a day, five days in the week, and throughout the year.

(b) Care of the elderly

216. Concern with workers' responsibilities towards elderly family members is expressed in a few reports. In Australia, the Home and Community Care programme, a joint federal/state programme, is directed towards assisting elderly people and younger people with disabilities to live in the community and prevent premature or inappropriate long-term residential care, and to assist those who care for these people. (A 1988 survey of disabled and aged persons found that 38 per cent of persons providing care to co-residents were in the workforce.) Those who provide care may have some respite from their responsibilities through the availability of services provided in the day-care centres, in residential care institutions and through services provided in the home; financial assistance through the Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit; and counselling and support groups. A further increase of the funds available for these activities has been announced in the 1993/1994 Federal Budget. A review is being conducted of aspects of access to services or service provision which present barriers for care providers who are, or wish to become, participants in the workforce on a full- or part-time basis. In Canada, the federal Government, through the Canadian Assistance Plan, provides the Seniors' Independence Initiative, under which expenditures related to independent living in the community are shared with the provincial governments. In the Province of Alberta, the Coordinated Home Care Programme supports families which care for an ill or elderly family member at home; senior centres are developed through cost-shared grants to municipalities. In British Columbia, "Security for Seniors: Policies and Programs, 1988-2000" includes a variety of programmes which assist working family members who care for elderly relatives.

217. In a number of other countries, existing programmes are geared in priority, to the elderly themselves, rather than to workers' needs for assistance with elder care. However, such programmes do provide a basis for assistance, which can perhaps later become more responsive to workers' needs. The Government of Cyprus reports on the availability of services for the elderly and disabled, which emphasize the provision of services within the community and the maintenance of elderly and handicapped persons in their own familiar environment, and include day-care services provided by Homes for the Elderly to non-residents. The report for New Zealand indicates that support for care-givers of dependants varies, but generally, relief care is only available to those providing care on a full-time basis, thus precluding their involvement in the paid workforce. However, many Area Health Boards provide day-care services for dependent elderly, thus enabling family members to maintain their participation in the workforce. Similarly, under the Attendant Care Programmes for persons with severe physical disabilities, care could be provided for up to 35 hours a week, but, in view of limited resources, attendance is limited to ten hours a week in practice. Where family members are incapacitated as a result of an occupational accident, the Corporation is responsible for the payment of attendant care, household help and child care. (Endnote 14) In Singapore, the Government renders financial assistance to welfare organizations and civic groups to set up services to meet the needs of families with elderly and disabled members. Services for the aged include day-care centres, clubs and a befriender scheme; the disabled can also attend day-care centres or sheltered workshops.

Location and availability of family services and facilities

218. The reports received supply limited information on the location of child-care facilities. The report submitted by the Government of Norway notes that almost all day-care centres are located in the neighbourhood of the children's homes and not of the parents' workplace. The comment made by the Government of Switzerland, and echoed by the Government of New Zealand as far as rural areas are concerned, that supply is better in cities than in suburban communities and that there are practically no facilities in the rural districts, is probably relevant in other countries as well. However, the Government of Australia indicates that multifunctional centres, which target the newly-born to 12-year-old child, operate in the rural areas and offer a range of services including work-related care, occasional care and care outside school hours, both centre-based and in families. Multifunctional Aboriginal Children's Services cater to the whole aboriginal population; the majority of care is required for reasons not related to work. No information was provided as to the location of facilities for the care of other family members.

219. As to capacity, several reports indicate that growth has been achieved in the area of child care. However, it is not always easy to understand how many of those children who need care because of their parents' work commitments are actually accommodated. In Australia, the level of demand met for newly-born to 4-year olds increased from an estimated 60 per cent in 1990-91 to 76 per cent in 1991-92. In Austria, the City of Vienna aims to achieve full provision of places for the children of working parents when the children are between age 3 and primary school, and to provide places in crèches to 25 per cent of children in their second and third years. Throughout the country, the number of children in kindergartens has gone up from 28,168 in 1923-24 to 186,734 in 1990-91. In Belarus, around 70 per cent of children below school age attend child-care facilities. In Canada, according to the 1990 National Day Care Study, the rate of accommodation of children of full-time working parents was 10.45 per cent for children up to age 17 months and 19.2 per cent for children between the ages of 18 and 35 months. In Cape Verde, almost 40 per cent of children aged 4 to 6 attend pre-school. In Finland, 124,000 places were available in communal and private day care, a growth of 16,000 places over 1988. Most communes also provide evening and night care for the children of night workers. In Israel, some 61,000 children are accommodated in the 12,000 child-care facilities available throughout the country; governmental subsidies cover 21 per cent of the expenditure, and fees are linked to the parents' ability to pay. In the Netherlands, the subsidy provided by the central Government for municipalities to develop their child-care provision will be nearly doubled between 1990 and 1994. This will result in a growth from 18,000 to 55,000 places, which, due to the prevalence of part-time work, are expected to serve 100,000 children. A proportion of the facilities is to be developed in cooperation with enterprises. In Sweden, 48 per cent of all children aged 3 months to 6 years had a place in public child care; of these, 71 per cent were in day-care centres and 29 per cent in family day care. In the Ukraine, pre-school care is available to 57 per cent of the children in need of such attention. In the United Kingdom (Hong Kong), the Government has set a target of providing an additional 1,400 subsidized places each year until the demand is fully met. In Venezuela, the number of children involved in the child-care programme went up from 3,290 in September 1989 to 71,872 by the end of 1990.

220. Information published by the Commission of the European Communities shows an uneven development of facilities in Member States. (Endnote 15) In Denmark, 57 per cent of the under-two, 66 per cent of the 3-6 and 32 per cent of the 7 to 10 year-olds were in day care. In France, 95 per cent of pre-primary children are in public, free nursery school and 25 per cent of the under-three children are in licensed day care. In Belgium, the percentage is the same for the older group and lower (20 per cent) for infants. In Italy, the percentage for this group falls to 5 per cent, but over 85 per cent of the older children are looked after at least part of the day. In Germany, Greece and Spain, 60 to 70 per cent of children aged 3 to 6 attend kindergarten, but only about 2 to 3 per cent of babies find a place in a crèche. In the other countries, as for example Ireland and the United Kingdom, the percentages are lower still.

221. Few reports contain information on the facilities available to schoolchildren either to complement the school-day or during holidays. Facilities in the first group may be provided by the schools themselves, which then offer half-boarding arrangements, with lunch and supervised play and study before and after normal teaching hours. They may be provided by local authorities or other groups, using either the school premises or other premises. Examples of extended school programmes are found in Belarus, where 21.5 per cent of pupils in classes 1-9 attend schools which cater to their needs outside of school hours. Outside School Hours Care and Vacation Care were available to some 48,000 Australian children at 30 June 1992; federal and state governments plan to fund 30,000 additional places by 1995-96. The level of demand met for care for 5-12 year-olds increased from an estimated 44 per cent in 1990-91 to 51 per cent in 1991-92. The report for Austria states that there are over 14,000 day-care places available for school-age children in Vienna, a little more than half of which are in municipal day homes, where fees are fixed in consideration of parents' income, and the rest in charitable or private homes. In future, the expansion of these facilities is to be emphasized. Out-of-school care is also provided in Canada and Finland, although no attendance figures are given. The Government of New Zealand notes that there is no organized state provision or funding for the care of young school-age children. Available services, which cater for only 4 per cent of children between 5 and 12 years of age, have largely been established by parents. In Singapore the Government encourages the development of Before and After School Care Programmes (BASCs) in the community. These are run by welfare organizations and by some schools; fees are charged on a sliding scale based on the income of the family. Significant progress is reported in Sweden: whereas 6 per cent of children aged 7 to 9 and 1 per cent of children aged 10 to 12 had places in leisure centres or family day-care in 1970, in 1990 the percentages reached 49 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. In the United Kingdom, where it is known that child care for school-age children is not well developed across the country, the Department of Health is setting up a pilot programme involving the voluntary sector to encourage expansion of services. In the United States, partnerships between the public and private sectors have formed in many cities to develop school age child-care programmes. In California, a company provided a US$250,000 grant for modular units at four schools for "latchkey" programmes. Parents' organizations have in turn used the space for infant programmes and other activities during school hours when the latchkey programme is not in session. (Endnote 16) According to a newspaper report, (Endnote 17) the Japanese Prefecture of Saitama had planned to abolish its school lunch programme. This move was strongly opposed, and the plan was abandoned. People most in favour of the school lunch programme were women respondents in the 20-40 age group.

222. In several countries, a large proportion of child care is provided for a fee by individuals in their home. Variously known as "mothers' helps" (France), "day mothers" (Germany), "child minder" (United Kingdom) or "guardian mother" (Venezuela), these women look after small children all day and school children before and after school. They operate throughout the year, except for the period of their own annual leave. The fee is often negotiated between the parties, although in some systems it is fixed by and paid to an organizing agency, which may provide some training and support, e.g. toy libraries. In Australia, a regular payment is made to carers of children with disabilities, in recognition of the additional care and attention that such children require. The number of children one person may look after is normally regulated; in Finland, it is a maximum of four children, including the person's own children. Child minders must register with a local authority which monitors their work and may also offer guidance and training. In Venezuela, the system is thought to benefit not only the children receiving care and their mothers, but also the women who provide the care. Their participation in the programme enables them to improve their housing situation and provides training opportunities. However, in many countries, people often fail to apply for registration, partly because licensing formalities are unnecessarily long and complicated. They thus operate quite informally, and may take in more children than would be desirable.

223. The existence of play groups, where children can drop in for a few hours on some days of the week, has been reported by several countries. However valuable these may be for children in the socialization process, they cannot be regarded as an adequate response to the child-care needs of working parents.

224. Although there is clearly a great deal of interest in a large number of countries for the development of child-care facilities, demand far exceeds capacity. A general trend seems to be that the older the pre-school child grows, the easier the situation becomes, although in a great number of countries the facilities for this age group consist of places in official educational institutions, which often operate only over limited hours of the parents' working day. However, in some countries (e.g. France) the programme spans up to ten hours, and frequently lunch is provided.

Cost and methods of financing

225. Good quality child care is costly. In order to ensure that workers can afford the services, many countries subsidize child care. The Australian Federal Government spent $434.8 million on child care in the financial year 1991-92, through capital grants, operational subsidies and income-related fee relief, a system under which fees are paid directly to the care provider. These funds are supplemented by state budgetary allocations. In Belarus, 92 per cent of the cost of child care is borne by the State. In Israel, government subsidies cover 22 per cent of the cost of the 61,000 child-care places available nationally, and parents pay the rest. In New Zealand, the child-care subsidy programme provides financial assistance to families of children under age 5 who would be unable to undertake part-time work or training because they cannot afford the full cost of child care. Singapore provides a $100 per month subsidy per child. In Sweden, state grants cover about 40 per cent of the cost of a place in day nursery. Special state grants are paid to day nurseries with extended opening hours and nurseries which are open at night. Such grants are earmarked for municipal and private day nurseries and leisure centres and for municipal part-time groups and open pre-schools. From 1993 on, the grants will no longer be earmarked, so as to enable the municipalities to allocate funds according to their own priorities. In Switzerland, the cost of a place in a day nursery is estimated to amount to SF1,800 per month (Endnote 18). Parents pay a fee calculated on the basis of their income and places are heavily subsidized by cantonal and municipal authorities, with indirect support from the Confederation. In the United States, under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (Endnote 19), expenditures of 2.5 billion dollars are authorized over three years, and further sums as necessary for two additional years. In contrast, parents are expected to meet the costs of child care in other countries, including the United Kingdom, where there is no general subsidy from public funds to help with these costs.

226. Another method of helping with child-care costs is to provide tax incentives and subsidies. In Canada (Endnote 20), there is a child tax credit ($213 in 1992) for each child under age 7 of low- and middle-income families and a child-care expense deduction of $4,000 per child under age 6 or other children with special needs and of $2,000 per child between 7 and 14 years of age. The 1992 budget proposes to increase the amount of allowable expenses by $1,000 per child beginning in 1993. In France, working parents whose children below 7 are cared for outside the home receive a tax free allocation. Social security contributions for persons employed in the home to care for small children are covered by the Family Allowances Fund. In the United Kingdom, where an employer manages a child-care service and subsidizes the cost for the employee, the subsidy is not treated as a taxable benefit. However, where an employer helps with the cost by means of a voucher, the subsidy is subject to tax. Employers can get tax relief for expenditure on child care. In the United States (Endnote 21), parents are eligible for annual tax credits of up to US$720 for one child and US$1,440 for two or more children, depending on income. Under the Federal Dependent Care Assistance Programme (Endnote 22), the expenditure incurred by an employer to provide care through a centre sponsored by the company, to subsidize any child care chosen by an employee, or to pay a portion of employees' child-care expenses will not be considered as income to the employee.

227. The reports examined contain little information on the financing of public facilities for the care of the elderly. In a few countries, as explained above, employers contribute to the financing of facilities that meet workers' needs for such care.

Organization and staffing

228. Paragraph 26 of the Recommendation provides that: (1) child-care and family services and facilities of all types should comply with prescribed standards laid down and supervised by the competent authority; (2) such standards should prescribe in particular the equipment and hygienic requirements of the services and facilities provided and the number and qualifications of the staff; and (3) the competent authorities should provide or help to ensure the provision of adequate training at various levels for the personnel needed to staff child-care and family services and facilities.

229. Good care requires safe premises with both indoors- and out-of-doors facilities, satisfactory material arrangements including cooking and cleaning, and quality programmes providing care and stimulation, that is to say an excellent staff. The ratios of children per adult and the number of children in a group should be low and linked to the children's age. The personnel (children's nurses, social educators and pre-school teachers) should be qualified and stable. This implies that their terms and conditions of employment, including prospects for upward mobility, should be sufficiently attractive. Arrangements also need to be made for registration and inspection. However, official requirements should not be such as to inhibit the development of facilities. In Canada (British Columbia), the relevant legislation is being reviewed to identify changes that can be made to remove barriers to expansion without compromising standards of care and the well-being of children.

230. Several governments (Endnote 23) have enacted legislation regulating staff qualifications, staff-children ratios, group size, records to be kept and health and safety requirements. National authorities thus license and regularly inspect child-care centres to monitor standards. In Australia, where each state and territory licensing authority is responsible for the development and monitoring of child-care regulations, the federal Government is currently working with them to achieve nationally consistent child-care regulations. In Austria, the Vienna Law and Ordinance on children's day homes set out requirements for the qualification and training of staff and the size of groups, which cannot exceed 12 to 14 in the case of babies; 16 to 18 for toddlers; and 25 to 28 for children in kindergartens or day nurseries. In Japan, nursery school teachers are appointed at the ratio of one to three children under 1, one to six children aged 1 to 2 years, one to 20 children aged 3 to 4 years and one to 30 children aged 4 years and above. As pointed out by the Government of Cyprus, such monitoring can also be used to provide guidance and advice in order to improve the quality of the services. Good practice guidelines may be issued in order to explain how to meet official requirements (Endnote 24).

231. A shortage of staff, especially properly trained staff, is a difficulty identified in some countries (Endnote 25), and probably experienced in others as well. In the Ukraine, 22,000 posts were vacant as of 1 January 1991. While the reports examined do not provide information on the terms and conditions of employment of staff members in child-care facilities, in several countries there is evidence of high turnover rates linked to poor pay and working conditions. For example, in the United Kingdom in 1985 (Endnote 26), the only workers in the pre-school services earning more than half the average non-manual wage rate were teachers in nursery education. Child minders were earning less than a quarter of the average non-manual wage rate. The low pay and low status of child-care workers may be linked to the fact that this is in general a sector dominated by women. According to European estimates, (Endnote 27), "child-care workers, in all countries, are overwhelmingly women, at least 90 per cent in each country and usually 95 per cent or more; the younger the age of children, the smaller the proportion of men involved in their care".

232. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the policy of the Government of Norway is to increase the number of male staff in pre-schools and primary schools, where the availability of male role models is considered important. The European Child Care Network has also looked at this issue (Endnote 28) in the perspective of strategies to improve equality in the labour market. The Network has concluded that the issue of child care in relation to equality of opportunity involves not only the development of child-care services and facilities but also employment adaptations and changes in the division of child-care and other family responsibilities between men and women. This is fully in line with the requirements of the ILO standards.

233. Several reports (Endnote 29) indicate that training is of concern. In Australia, about 46 per cent of all staff in services have formal qualifications relevant to child care. Community-based long day care centres have the highest proportion of qualified staff (48 per cent) while private centres have 44 per cent. In outside school hours care services, 35 per cent of the staff have qualifications, and in family day-care services, 15 per cent of care providers hold relevant qualifications. In Austria, over 50 per cent of kindergarten staff have recognized caring or teaching diplomas and about 22 per cent have none, while some 18 per cent are employed in manual tasks. In Germany, staff have almost always received further state-regulated technical training. In the United Kingdom (Hong Kong), both initial and in-service training is provided, including orientation and induction courses and staff development programmes. In Singapore, a Child Care Training Programme has been developed to ensure an acceptable standard of care. Centre operators receive subsidies through the Skills Development Fund for expenses incurred in staff training.

234. No information was provided on the licensing and supervision of facilities for the care of the elderly or the training of their staff.

Help in the exercise of family responsibilities

235. Part VII of the Recommendation addresses the last set of measures which should form part of a strategy to help workers reconcile their employment and family responsibilities. Paragraph 32 calls on the competent authorities and bodies in each country to promote such public and private action as is possible to lighten the burden deriving from the family responsibilities of workers. The reports examined do not, in general, contain extensive information on the measures taken to give effect to this part of the Recommendation. In most cases, the services described do not appear to have been developed with a view to supporting workers with family responsibilities, but rather to helping the general population.

Provision of home help and home care services

236. Paragraph 33 of the Recommendation calls for the development of home help and home care services which are adequately regulated and supervised and which can provide workers with family responsibilities, as necessary, with qualified assistance at a reasonable charge in accordance with their ability to pay.

237. The Government of Finland notes in its report that, where paid leave is available to care for a sick child or family member, it is usually the mother who has to exercise this right. This contributes to wage discrimination because such absences are perceived as increasing the indirect cost of women's labour and justifying the lower wages offered in industries where women predominate. Where such leave is not available, it is most probably also the mother or daughter who makes the necessary arrangements, with similarly unfortunate employment consequences, because then women are seen as unreliable. This shows the importance of home help and home care services as support services for workers.

238. In Australia, home help, nursing, personal care, transport, linen and food services are available for the frail elderly and those who care for them. In Austria, social workers or children's nurses are available to visit homes in case of difficulties. Other family support services include home nursing by district nurses; home help; family help and home care for children; house cleaning; home visiting services; laundry services; repairs and meals on wheels. The budget devoted to the services had grown by 29.70 per cent between 1973 and 1991. The Government of Belarus, where domestic services meet only one-third of the demand, has adopted a plan which provides for the expansion of such services, the implementation of which, however, is limited by resource constraints. The Government of Finland acknowledges that the country still lacks an effective home help system that could intervene when a child is ill. In Germany (Endnote 30), the Health Insurance Act provides that if, in a household where there is a child below 12 years of age, the head of household is unable to run that household because of hospitalization or residential treatment, or, according to regulations issued under the Act, in other cases as well, the sickness fund must provide the insured person with domestic help or pay the cost of such help. In Singapore, Family Service Centres set up in the neighbourhood provide casework services, family life education, referral services and volunteer development programmes for a nominal fee. The Government of the United Kingdom (Hong Kong) plans, resources permitting, to expand home help service staff by 44 additional teams and family aid services by 31 additional aides by 1995-96.

239. In some countries, as for example Israel, home help services are provided for single-parent families only. In Spain, under an agreement signed between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Autonomous Communities, the budget devoted to social services including home help has more than trebled between 1988 and 1992. Some 85 per cent of people using home help services are elderly and 7 per cent belong to single-parent families.

240. A few countries also report on support services for family welfare. These can obviously be of great value to workers who experience difficulties in their family life. In Austria, a vast network of marriage, divorce, children or youth counselling services is available. Advice is provided to parents before and after the birth of a child, and a range of facilities such as family planning centres, parents' schools, parents' advice centres, parent-child centres have been set up.

Provision of services in the community

241. Paragraph 34 of the Recommendation notes that many measures designed to improve the conditions of workers in general can have a favourable impact on those of workers with family responsibilities. It accordingly calls on the competent authorities to promote such public and private action as is possible to make the provision of services in the community, such as public transport, supply of water and energy in or near workers' housing and housing with labour-saving layout, responsive to the needs of workers.

242. In view of housing shortages, several governments, including Burundi and Chile, report housing development programmes for low-income families. In Australia, the federal Government provides funds to the states and territories for public housing and home purchasing assistance, which is subject to broad guidelines, including that assistance shall be provided in a flexible manner to meet the changing employment and other needs and circumstances of the people receiving assistance, and that the design, style and siting of rental housing will, to the maximum extent practicable, reflect the need for access to employment opportunities and services. In Bolivia, rural community development programmes include the provision of housing and electricity. The Swiss Federal Housing Office has set up an evaluation system to monitor the improvement of the quality of housing units and of their environment.

243. A few reports refer to the adequacy of transport services. In Australia, an ambitious five-year programme of grant to the states, launched in 1991-92, aims at improving the viability of infrastructure services such as public transport systems, facilitating access to employment, training and child-care services and increasing labour force mobility. In Germany, considerable funds are made available each year by the Federation and the communities to provide a rapid, comfortable and economical service. Special routes and timetables are worked out to meet the needs of users during peak times, account being taken of their places of residence and work. Transport services are reported to be satisfactory in Cape Verde and Mauritius.

244. In some countries, including Mozambique, employers provide or subsidize services such as transport, housing or the provision of energy and water to workers' housing. In Tunisia and Turkey, collective agreements include a number of benefits such as staff transport, feeding facilities or the provision of luncheon vouchers, help with housing, holiday camps for workers' children and various loans.

245. The Governments of Canada, Israel and the Philippines consider that services are well developed and are generally responsive to the needs of various sections of the population, including workers with family responsibilities.

Endnotes

Endnote 2

Endnote 3

Endnote 4

Endnote 5

Endnote 6

Endnote 7

Endnote 8

Endnote 9

Endnote 10

Endnote 11

Endnote 12

Endnote 13

Endnote 14

Endnote 15

Endnote 16

Endnote 17

Endnote 18

Endnote 19

Endnote 20

Endnote 21

Endnote 22

Endnote 23

Endnote 24

Endnote 26

Endnote 27

Endnote 28

Endnote 29

Endnote 30

Cross references
Constitution: Article 19
Constitution: Article 22
Constitution: Article 35