A company-based childcare service improves workers’ loyalty and productivity

Children’s laughter and giggles welcomed the visit of the ILO and its partners at Tunas Cinta childcare at Ngoro Industrial Park, Mojokerto District, East Java. Located in two connected two-story buildings, 15 children aged 3 and above were cheerfully playing with educational games of interconnected blocks and tubes. They were surrounded by their teachers who patiently observed and assisted them.

One of the children proudly showed his creation of colourful interconnected tubes in the shape of a boat. With a big smile, he lifted and show it off on his face. “I make this myself,” he told.

Tunas Cinta childcare is established in 2016 by PT Surabaya Autocomp Indonesia (PT SAI), a Japanese operating company that produces automotive wiring components. PT SAI employs more than 5,000 employees of whom 90 percent are women. Coming from the surrounding areas of Eat Java, most of the company’s female employees previously had to leave their small children at their hometown and were only able to visit and meet them once or twice a week.

The childcare is very accessible for all company workers. By having a feeling of security that their children being well taken care of and having an opportunity to check on their children whenever possible, the working parents can focus on their works without worrying about the conditions of their children."

Nur Khusanah, Headmaster of Tunas Cinta Childcare

Understanding the urgent need for working mothers to be closed to their small children and to improve not only the quality of workers’ lives but also their productivity, the company decided to establish the childcare service seven years ago through its company social responsibility (CSR) programme.

Nur Khusanah, Headmaster of Tunas Cinta Childcare, said that all employees of PT SAI have access to the childcare freely. Located nearby the company, the employees can easily drop off their children on the way to work and pick them up on the way home. They can also visit and check on their children easily at any time.

“The childcare is very accessible for all company workers. By having a feeling of security that their children being well taken care of and having an opportunity to check on their children whenever possible, the working parents can focus on their works without worrying about the conditions of their children,” Nur said.

The childcare service, according to Nur, provides early childhood educational programme based on the national curriculum and all the teachers should follow educational and training programmes, including a continuous programme on the improvement of their teaching skills.

In addition to educational programme, the childcare service teaches the children to be disciplined and independent. The childcare also provides an employment opportunity for the wives of the PT SAI’s employees to be a teacher.

“I am grateful that I have given the opportunity for being a teacher here. Thus, I can take care of my two children while attending other children. It really helps me being closed to my children and being able to directly monitor my children while working,” said one of the teachers whose children are now already grown up.

Companies should consider care programmes such as an access to childcare service and a lactation corner, as an investment, not as a burden or an expense. The childcare service provides a feeling of security to the employees about the well-being of their children that, in turn, will strengthen employees’ loyalty, working performance and productivity."

Early Dewi Nuriana, ILO’s Programme Officer for Care Economy

Maria Dwi Susanti, a Labour Inspector of the Provincial Manpower Office of Surabaya explained that Tunas Cinta has been known for its quality and the company has been granted an award for empowering women workers. “Not only childcare service, the company has also provided other care work programmes such as lactation corner and its facilities,” Maria added.

Commenting on the initiative of PT SAI to provide a childcare service for its employees, Early Dewi Nuriana, ILO’s Programme Officer for Care Economy, stated that PT SAI has provided a good example on the implementation of a company-based childcare service. “Companies should consider care programmes such as an access to childcare service and a lactation corner, as an investment, not as a burden or an expense. The childcare service provides a feeling of security to the employees about the well-being of their children that, in turn, will strengthen employees’ loyalty, working performance and productivity,” she stated.

The ILO field visit to the Tunas Cinta childcare service was conducted in early October as part of the fourth stakeholder meeting conducted in Surabaya. The field visit was joined by representatives of the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), Ministry of Education, Research and Technology, Ministry of Religion, employers’ and workers’ organizations, the Early Childhood Educators Association (Himpaudi) from both national and local.

In addition to the company-based childcare service, the visit was also conducted to community-based childcare service, private childcare service and childcare service owned by the educational institution. The results of the field visit were used as inputs for providing a greater access to childcare services nationwide.