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Monday January 7, 2013

Help ease childcare burden, bosses urged


PETALING JAYA: Employers should chip in to help ease the childcare costs of their workers.

Association of Registered Child Care Providers Malaysia vice-president P.H. Wong said companies should invest in childcare.

“This will help reduce absenteeism and increase productivity and staff retention,” she said.

It was reported that nursery fees in Selangor would soon be increased because of the implementation of the minimum wage of RM900.

Families have also been forced to turn to childcare centres because hiring a maid was not a financially feasible option now.

Wong said the Government should also provide subsidies to parents who send their children to private childcare centres.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan expressed concern over the increase in childcare fees.

“We hope higher wages will enable families to better afford childcare.”

However, he said that if it became too costly to get help, workers could drop out of the labour market.

He called on the Government to ensure childcare was more widespread and that land be allocated for community childcare centres.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon said the Government had provided parents with financial help for childcare.

Eligibility for the RM180 monthly subsidy for children under the care of public childcare centres has been raised from those earning RM2,000 to RM3,000.

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