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An answer to this question is urgently needed: are there enough childcare spaces in Switzerland? In fact, Parliament must decide to approve another 125 million francs for the creation of additional seats – what is called "impulse financing". This would be the fourth time in the last 15 years. The National Council has already (almost) said yes, after the summer decides the Council of States . During the debate at the National Council, it became clear that reliable data was needed: if one of the councils cited cases where crèches were being received because of an insufficient number of children, d & # 39; Others spoke of nursery-development of Switzerland
. ? Statisticians know exactly how many cows there are in Switzerland, how many cars or houses. However, nurseries are not systematically registered. Katja Branger, a specialist at the Federal Statistical Office, refers instead to a report published at the end of 2017. Given the uneven data, the current situation can not be better represented.
The report was commissioned by the University of St. Gallen and Interface, specializing in political studies. The conclusion drawn by co-author Oliver Bieri is surprising: "The time for funding the impulse is over.The construction of nurseries is more or less complete in most areas." The decisive question now is to know how much the parents have to pay for a place
A place for two children
Well 60 According to the report in Switzerland, there are 3,000 places in nurseries, the number is based in part on current cantonal information, partly on older data extrapolations In Switzerland, one in five children in pre-school age has room for the whole week, but what is known as "Degree of supply" varies enormously: in some cantons in French-speaking Switzerland there is a place for three children and in the rural cantons of German-speaking Switzerland for ten or more children, in several large cities the ratio is almost of 1: 2.
This value alone does not say whether there are too many or too few seats. Simply because the average Swiss child goes to the nursery two days a week. A place can often be used by two or three children. In addition, many more preschoolers are taken care of for free by their grandparents or other close relatives only to go to the nursery. Here too, the differences are important between the regions of the country as well as between the city and the countryside.
To answer the question too much or too little, parents were asked about the report in 30 communities – from city to village. As a result, one in five families with preschool children wanted more outpatient care. However, to refuse to do so, only 10% of families gave up the missing seats. Nearly one in two families cited the excessive price or the lack of subsidized places
In the cantons of Berne and Zurich, officials confirm the conclusion of the report. This corresponds to Bern Canton's perception that the cost of care for families is the biggest problem that the space available, says Gundekar Giebel, spokesman for social director Alain Schnegg.
André Woodtli, head of the youth office in Zurich, says: "The supply of childcare spaces in the canton of Zurich responds to the demand, especially with the costs that families have for the nurseries. must take over. "
Number 1 outpatient care is still grandparents. Children in a treasure Photo: Gaétan Bally / Keystone (archives).
In most cantons, the public sector contributes an average of about a third of the costs of a day care center, two-thirds taking care of families. In neighboring countries such as France or Germany, but also in some cantons of western Switzerland, the relationship is reversed. "If the public sector involved more in the cost of care, the financial burden on families would decrease and the demand for care spaces would increase accordingly," says Woodtli. "Then today's offer would not be enough."
"We are too expensive for many families," says Rosmarie Quadranti, BDP National Advisor and President of the Nativity Association. "Not because of salaries, not because of infrastructure needs, but because the public sector and employers pay too little." She advocates for federal government end-of-term funding for additional spaces in day care centers. In some parts of Switzerland there is still a demand. However, the problem of families' costs has not yet been solved
Where Companies Pay
Since July, a second federal grant fund is available for a total of 96 million francs for five years. Among other things, it should be used to reduce the cost of care for families. But money flows only when the cantons join them.
Zurich is already agitating. In the canton, municipalities are obliged to offer a complementary offer of family-based care based on demand and regulate its funding, says the director of the Woodtli Youth Aid Office. Two initiatives that wanted cantonal co-financing were rejected by voters. Unlike the canton of Zurich, the canton of Bern plans to introduce service vouchers for families.
In the canton of Vaud, employers finance health care places through a fund. Their association is however against the extension of this system to the whole of Switzerland. Even though businesses benefit from a greater number of mothers working at a time when there is a shortage of skilled labor. "Funding is the responsibility of the public sector," says Simon Wey, case manager. Among other things, the state benefits greatly from the increase in tax revenues if the compatibility of work and family is better. Therefore, the Confederation, the cantons and municipalities should do more to promote compatibility.
In order to lobby, a meeting will be held in November between the association and representatives of virtually all major parties. The commitments of the SVP are pending. "It's forging a broad alliance," says Wey. "And show on the outside that there is a need for action." In addition to the funding of childcare spaces, the development of day schools is a priority for the employers' association. The latter should be able to hear quickly on the latter. The question is whether it will follow when it comes to paying.
(Tages-Anzeiger)
Created: 12.07.2018, 19:47
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