ERC Commissioner wants Government to implement daycare services

– initiative would be a “win-win” for all parties

The cost of daycare facilities for children in Guyana continues to rise as parents, especially those who are employed, are finding it difficult to juggle between their workplaces and daycare centres.

In light of this, women’s representative on the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), Ruth Howard while speaking about the roles that women play, explained that traditionally, women have been seen as nurturers at home but now, with their presence in the workforce, this proves to be quite a challenge.
She stated that there is a need for more workplaces to offer daycare services to women as part of ensuring that they can function effectively as a staff member and also as a parent. Such a move would be a “win-win situation” for all parties.
The Government agencies have a larger number of women in the workforce when compared to the Private Sector and it would make quite an impact on the lives of women who sometimes have to bring their children to the office and keep them there until the work day comes to an end.
An initiative such as this would also benefit men; those who are single parents and other male guardians that are responsible for collecting a child from school and taking them to their mothers.
In relation to the Private Sector, she noted that there needs to be more caring and understanding employers to allow employees with children to work flexible hours since there are cases where some employers these days have banned employees from bringing children into the workplace.
Night-care facilities for parents and/or guardians with night jobs or those who have to work a shift system would be one solution in ensuring enhanced performance from their staff and females can be more family-oriented.
Ideally, the move for Government to establish daycare centres would be welcomed by the larger society since it would be cost effective to families and also negate situations where employers have to give time off to their workers so that they can care for their children properly.
This idea had been voiced on the campaign trail during the elections held in 2015 but to date it is yet to come to fruition.