SANTIAGO – Chilean President Sebastián Piñera on Wednesday unveiled a bill that would enable the children of working parents to have free access to childcare centers or nurseries.
“Making work life and family life compatible is not easy,” Pinera said during the presentation of the bill in Santiago.
Current law requires a minimum of 20 women on a company’s payroll before it has to provide a childcare center.
Pinera said his plan would change the status quo “by establishing the universal right to a childcare center for the children of all working mothers and fathers.”
He said the proposed law would benefit three groups: children, who need encouragement and motivation from a very early age to fully realize their potentials; working mothers, who must “reconcile their work lives with family”.
Hoy firmamos PDL #SalaCunaUniversal que favorecerá: a los niños q tendrán motivación y enseñanza temprana, a las madres trabajadoras q podrán trabajar sabiendo q sus hijos están bien cuidados y a las familias q podrán crecer y armonizar el mundo del trabajo con el de la familia pic.twitter.com/7sGhD5z2HJ
— Sebastian Piñera (@sebastianpinera) August 8, 2018
With available childcare, it is estimated that some 250,000 women would be able to enter the labor force.
Labor Day: Piñera pledges universal nursery, work-at-home jobs
The proposed law would also create a Solidarity Fund for the Social Benefit of Nursery Education at the Nursery Level, which would cover children aged six months to two years whose parents have jobs and meet certain criteria.
The Sala Cuna Universal project will allow every woman who wants to enter the labor market to be entitled to the nursery, regardless of the type of contract and the size of the company to which it provides service.
