Childcare Crisis

Brad Dunn's daughter Mikhaila. See Work & Family

Sue Douglas is an Adelaide seafarer, who works on Accolade II, is married to brewery sales manager Scott and they have two girls -- Kiera, 4 and Mahli, 1.

"People at home looking after kids don't show up on the unemployment figures," says Sue. "That's John Howard's policy. He wants us to all stay home and disappear and not add to the unemployment figures. John Howard wants every woman to wear a nice white apron and stand behind the picket fence out the front. The whole family policy of this Coalition Government stinks.

"Childcare is a huge issue. I've had to take unpaid leave because we had no childcare. When you are going through this time of earning no money, trying to find childcare is really hard. We applied 18 months ago and only just got it. But we've had to pay full time childcare -- two positions, even though I'll be doing three week swings.

"That means I have to pay $500 a week just to keep it open when I'm on leave. I had to take it and pay now while on unpaid maternity leave and I have to keep paying for the three weeks I'm home or we'd lose the care.

"It's a bit of a struggle, as I'm not earning money. If you've just had a baby, the bills still come in. They don't stop because you've got a baby.

"I'll be paying $1500 over a month. My going back to work next year will cost us $22,000 annually in childcare fees. I've got to earn over that to make work possible. The childcare bill is going to be half my wage of $52,000 a year.

"I was working on the Accolade II and three months pregnant when they sacked me and the entire MUA crew. I asked who was going to hire me next month when I'm four months pregnant. Management said that's your problem.

"The union fought and got our jobs back. Otherwise I don't know when I'd get another job. On the day I left the Accolade because of the industrial dispute, I owed them seven days. Without even notifying me they docked my pay.

"As well as having to take unpaid maternity leave, to add insult to injury I lose my death and disability cover, because I can't keep up my super contributions. And I have to do a medical to get back onto super. That doesn't happen until I go back to work. So I'll be going back with no cover. It sucks. The whole situation stinks.

"It's been a real battle for me because people have said they have not had to deal with this before. There's been so few women in the industry. Even the first time I got pregnant the company got me to leave early. They didn't want me on the ship. I said nothing was wrong with me. I was just pregnant. So they made me do a medical for the last four months of my pregnancy and get a doctors' certificate every swing, every three weeks -- hearing, vision, everything.

"This time around I said I wanted 13 months maternity leave. And for once they did the right thing and agreed. But only after I told them I didn't want to have the baby on the ship.

"'You don't want to have to evacuate me in the middle of the Gulf in the middle of the night, do you?' I asked. "You don't want me to have a baby on the ship.' They agreed. Sometimes you do get what you want.

"I wanted to stay home until the baby was one. It's important to breast-feed.

"It's such a huge issue this work and family thing. I'd never really considered it until I went through it myself. The Howard Government wants more of us to have children. But how? How can they expect us?

"Labor is talking about creating more childcare in needy areas. But every place is needy. Everyone is having difficulties.

"So many women I've spoken to are really upset because they have to give up their careers. They can't afford to go back to work. It's really sad. Many are devastated. They only realise once they do the sums that it's not going to add up. A lot of people with skills, thousands of skilled mothers, can't return to work. They can't afford it.

"They have to drop their careers and try finding a job six years later. They end up just sitting at home.

"Creating more childcare places creates more employment. The way it is now it's just a disaster. People fighting each other for places. They had 600 on the books at my centre. They've closed the books. They're not taking any more applications until next September. Then they'll open the books for a couple of weeks and shut them again. It's just awful. We looked at 30 other childcare centres in our area before we found the one we've got now. They were all the same. Booked out.

"The only way to look at it is it's only for a few years. It pays us to keep my job. If I chuck the towel in and try to get back in five years, I might not find anything.

"I'm on nothing, now. Not a cent. Labor's new tax threshold at least will help. I've voted Green in the past but they're not able to change enough and make a difference.

"If the Coalition gets back they'll bring in more industrial relations reform and we can kiss our jobs goodbye. They are desperate to get rid of us. They are desperate to get rid of any union person. How many other people in Australia would put up with foreigners coming in and taking their jobs?

"How ard talks security. Maritime security. But he's got no maritime security. Australia's got no ships."

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An ACTU childcare phone-in held in September fielded calls from 420 parents, 81 per cent of whom had experienced one or more problems such as long waiting, rising fees , quality care problems lists preventing them returning to work.

The ACTU is currently running a Work and Family Test Case in the Industrial Relations Commission and calling on working families to come forward with examples of childcare and work flexibility issues..

A Labor Government would:

• introduce paid maternity leave through a fully funded Baby Care Payment.

• require the Industrial Relations Commission to ensure awards contain provisions that help workers combine work with family responsibilities.

• provide working parents 10 hours a week of free care for each child aged three to four,

• povide childcare trainees with bonuses for completing their training and boost wages for childcare workers

• create 6500 new child-care places - a promise which won praise from industry experts despite concerns even more places were needed.

• create an extra 8000 outside school hours care places

The Coalition opposes obligations on employers to provide family friendly workplaces and has failed to fix the family payment debt crisis.

A NSW Sun-Herald/Taverner Poll published on September19 found the majority of women surveyed (52 per cent) thought the ALP best represented issues affecting women. These were cited as education (23 per cent), bulk billing (20 per cent), equal pay (14 per cent), more and cheaper childcare (13 per cent) and tax cuts (12 per cent).