Childminding cuts hit working parents

Monday 08 September 2008

Government cuts in spending on official childminders will lead to mothers working fewer hours and some stopping work altogether, according to research group Vyvoij, quoted in Monday’s AD.

The cabinet is slashing the official childminding rate from €6 to €2.50 an hour per child and limiting parents to 12 hours a week in subsidies because of a massive budget overspend.

Some 45% of childminders say they will stop working because of the effect on their income. ‘These measures are having drastic consquences,’ Vyvoij researcher Maria Jongsma told the AD.

The shortage of registered minders means some 50% of parents will change or reduce their working hours while one in five parents will stop working entirely, the researchers say.

© DutchNews.nl

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