This morning, I walked past the pantry and overheard conversations between my colleagues, Minah and Siti.
Minah complained that she got saman (fined) by the childcare centre for picking up her daughter late. Siti replied with all sorts of negative things about childcare teachers because she was fined multiple times before too. She said they were calculative, unreasonable and ‘tak boleh diharap’ (not reliable).
I peeped into the pantry and asked, “If they are unreliable, why do you leave your kids with them?”
“Because got to work lah kak… it’s unfair! We’re only 10-15 minutes late. Not our fault when there are traffic jams and trains are packed!”
Minah added, “Everyone’s back at work, and it’s peak timing. The least they could do is to open to 8 pm lah!”
Eh eh, so self-entitled!
Generally, childcare centres operating full day will open from 7 am to 7 pm. To me, it’s only fair for parents to be ‘fined’ for making teachers stay later than they should.
If asked to do O.T (over time) wouldn’t our typical response be “got extra pay?” or “can get a day off day?”.
Recognising the needs of all workers
I’ve observed that the needs of workers, especially those who provide critical essential services, are easily overlooked.
Childcare or daycare teachers help to lessen the burden of caregiving for workers with children. However, aren’t they workers too? And if there are many parents like Minah and Siti, how then are the caregiving needs of childcare teachers supported?
From what I know, balancing caregiving responsibilities is a common concern raised by different groups of workers- from the young to the old. As the nation’s population ages, caregiving is no longer focused on kids but includes those with elderly family members or individuals with special needs.
These were some of the common concerns raised by workers who participated in the engagement sessions of the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations by NTUC.
Other issues typically faced by workers are concerns over wages & rising costs of living, job training & opportunities and retirement adequacy.
Since last year, the EWMC roadshow teams have been going down to different locations to speak to workers from diverse backgrounds and find out about their work-life needs.
Through these engagements, NTUC, together with the workers, can co-create solutions to better support workers’ concerns and aspirations for the future.
Recently I read Mr Fahmi Aliman’s Facebook post on a recent EWMC engagement that was organised by NTUC and Mendaki.
“I had a great discussion with our Malay community and union leaders to understand the concerns and aspirations of our Malay/Muslim workers, and how the Labour Movement and other stakeholders such as M³ can support them in their job search, employment and training opportunities. Many also raised related issues that have an impact on work, such as caregiving.”
So fair or not, for parents to kena saman?
I have heard of some parents advocating for ‘night care’ too. These parents usually work unconventional hours and need caregiving support at night.
One country offers night nurseries in Sweden, which has a glowing reputation for its generous childcare facilities and is regularly ranked as one of the best places to raise a family.
I remember an MP once said that such facilities are rare in Singapore because while there may be a demand, the uptake rate is not high. A possible solution to this would be to base it on locations- places where many parents require this facility or service. An example would be the airport, where there is a volume of workers on shifts.
But then for Minah and Siti, they knock off work at 5 pm every day so how come they’re still late to pick up the kids?
“We go spin la kak! Work is so sian, so we need to release our stress and can lose weight! Win-win leh.”
Wah this one win liao. I feel like clapping my hands to their heads.
They shared that while they try to leave on time, sometimes their other spin kakis will want to chit-chat or take selfies together so they will end later, and that is when they kena saman!
Wah…again, win liao. I sibeh angry.
They are the ones who tak boleh diharap for not keeping to the centre’s closing hours. It’s also very unreasonable to expect teachers to stay at work longer just so they get to have some ‘me’ time at the spin class.
I told them if that was my childcare centre, not only will I saman parents with their mindsets, I would also make them bring my children home for them to look after at night, while I gai gai with my Abang!
