77% Bangladeshi employers don’t offer any childcare facility

Takmina Khatun, a worker at a readymade garments factory at Sreepur area on the outskirts of the capital, comes to her workplace with her one-year-old kid. 

Before signing in, she hands over the child to the factory-owned childcare centre. 

"I can concentrate on my work fully as I know my boy will receive everything he needs. During the lunch hour, I also give a visit to him," the apparel worker said, adding the factory feels like home for the mother and infant.  

Takmina's firm the Denimach Ltd pays for the centre.  

However, most of the working women in Bangladesh are not as privileged as Takmina. This is because the overall scenario of the country's private sector companies are totally different from that of Denimach.

According to a latest survey report, 77 percent of the employers in Bangladesh do not yet offer any childcare facility to their female employees.      

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organization of the World Bank, conducted the survey on 306 companies in the country. It found as many as 61 percent of the employers do not have any plan to set up childcare centre in future. Among them, 9 percent are totally unaware of the concept of day care centre.

The findings of the research titled 'Tackling Childcare: The Business Benefits and Challenges of Employer-Supported Childcare in Bangladesh' were revealed in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The findings show only 23 percent of the companies offer some sort of childcare option to their employees while 16 percent companies have plans for providing childcare solution in future.

A total of 44 percent employers were found paying the total cost of those centres.

At present, more than 1.68 crore women are working in sectors ranging from bank and insurance, IT and telecom, NGOs, agriculture and above all, the country's main export earning garment industry, according to Labour Force Survey 2013. The number was only 49.69 lakh nearly two decades ago.

Women's share in total employment increased to 29 percent in 2013 from 14 percent in 1995-96, according to Labour Force Survey.

Though the number of employed women spiralled, the issue of ensuring care for babies remained neglected at both the public and private sectors.

At the research findings publication programme, Asif Ibrahim, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said it is difficult to introduce day-cares at apparel factories.    

"Currently, there are 8,000 workers at my factory and nearly 7,000 of them are woman. It would take another separate structure, funds as well if we want to open a child care centre there," Asif Ibrahim added. 

He suggested joint public and private efforts for the initiative of opening such facility.

The research publication programme also shaded light on other challenges for setting up day-cares.    

Trade licenses for childcare centres are only issued in pre-school category. Even the trade licence is given in condition that the centres have to be in a commercial place.

"Who wants to raise their kid at a commercial space," questioned Acting Secretary of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Joynal Abedin.

He said, "Children should be raised up in a calm place which at least has a tag of residential area."