MORE women are quitting the workforce mainly to care for their children.
This is especially because their respective employers do not have daycare facilities at the workplace.
Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala said Malaysian women represented a significant percentage of university students, citing that they made up 68% of public university intake in the 2013/2014 session.
Most of them entered the job market upon graduation, he said, adding that many dropped out when they rose up in their career.
Idris added that TalentCorp-ACCA Report on Retaining Women in the Workforce showed that the fairer sex opted out of the job market to take on additional roles in their lives in line with societal norms such as to raise children.
A 2012 World Bank report showed that the participation of Malaysian women in the labour force was 47.9% or 4.58 million out of the total 9.57 million, considered the lowest in the Asean region.
In contrast, in 2010 itself, Singapore recorded women participation at 60% and Laos at 80%.
UK, Denmark and Sweden’s women participation was at 68%, 75% and 74% respectively.
Unicef representative in Malaysia Wivina Belmonte said as the country planned to boost its female workforce participation and move towards being a developed nation by 2020, high-quality child care centres was a priority for mothers – and fathers – who want their children to receive the best care while they were at work.
“A childcare centre at the workplace is a win not just for parents and children, but also for business.
“A high-quality early childhood education and care centre at the workplace provides a competitive edge to businesses, allowing them to retain talent (especially female talent) and supports a more sustainable working environment. As such it is an investment, not a cost to businesses,” she said.
While most organisations have not jumped on board to help address the talent drain issue, some organisations have provided childcare centres and baby crèche.
StarMetro spoke to two organisations that provided such facilities for their employees.
The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has child care and kindergarten facilities for its staff’s children since 1994 while Sime Darby Berhad’s child care services started in 1995.
MBPJ
MBPJ allocated about RM500,000 each year to support the Taska Pusat Perkembangan Minda Kanak-Kanak MBPJ.
The daycare operates from 8am to 5pm on workdays and is equipped with CCTV surveillance.
It is located at Jalan Tandang, Petaling Jaya several kilometers away from the MBPJ headquarters.
Each year, a minimum 150 children are enrolled here.
An MBPJ spokesman said 197 children aged between two months and six years benefited from the service this year.
The daycare centre is well equipped with learning and teaching aid based on the age category.
Eighteen teachers, three nannies, two cooks and a supervisor managed the centre.
“This centre is a perk for council staff. It has been running successfully for more than 20 years and we have never had a problem managing it,” she said.
Parents would send their children in the morning and only nursing mothers could drop by during their lunch break to feed their babies.
“We have strict rules here and parents will not interrupt the lessons or skip work to visit their children,” she said.
“The fee is RM120 for children below two years, RM100 for those below four and RM80 for those below six,” she said.
In addition to the routine daycare schedule, the children also go on excursions. They have gone on trips to places such as Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Zoo Negara, and to a bread factory.
“For the longest time MBPJ was the only council in Selangor to provide such daycare facilities. Now the Shah Alam City Council and Subang Jaya Municipal Council also has such service,” she said.
Sime Darby Berhad
The Sime Darby Berhad childcare facility is located inside Wisma Sime Darby in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur.
Currently, the daycare called Taska Sime Darby has 37 children aged between two months and four years.
A company spokesman said the daycare was part of the company’s benefit for their staff.
It is part of the company’s initiative to be a responsible, caring and understanding employer especially for employees with children, she said, adding that such facilities offered emotional security to employees to reduce separation anxiety.
“This also encourages parents to continue their service with the company. Most parents who used the facility have served the company for over five years,” she said.
The module used was based on the Permata curriculum and the hours are between 8.30am and 5.30pm.
“Children are also exposed to thematic modules. Such as in January they learned about the human body,” she said.
The children start their day with morning exercise followed by breakfast, shower, the morning assembly, and activities.
The facilities here consist of a nursery for infants as well as a reading corner, activity area, indoor playground and multipurpose room.
A breastfeeding room and cooler is also provided within the centre. All child care providers are accredited by the Welfare Department.
Just like MBPJ, only nursing mothers are allowed to visit their babies during lunch break.
Others can only pick up their children after work hours while special arrangements could be made for parents who have to work overtime.
Fee for children of staff of the executive level is RM180 and those from the non-executive level pay RM150.
The company helped to subsidise the bulk of the cost.
Parent Shamsul Nirwan Halid from the company’s Group Corporate Assurance IT Department said the daycare facility was among the perks that had kept him serving the company for over five years.
“For me, Taska Sime Darby offers security and quality childcare services. Quality service is a direct result of employment security.
Employees of Taska Sime Darby also have stable jobs that come with benefits in a well respected organisation like Sime Darby.
“I send my three-year-old daughter here. If she falls ill, the child care providers will contact me and I will take her to our panel clinic located in the same building.
“The monthly fee of RM180 is value for money and among the best in Kuala Lumpur based on my research,” he said.
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