SADAQA holds conference on expansion of social protection for daycare sector

AMMAN — Local and governmental organisations on Monday discussed means of expanding social protection for the daycare sector in Jordan.

The conference, organised by the women’s economic rights organisation, SADAQA, was titled “Expanding Social Protection and Raising the Value of the Care Sector”.

The event was held under the patronage of Minister of State for Legal Affairs and Head of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women Empowerment Wafa Bani Mustafa, in cooperation with the French Embassy in Amman.

“The economy cannot become strong without fully investing in the energy and capabilities of women,” Bani Mustafa told the gathering.

She added: “Enhancing the role of women in economic decision-making requires efforts focused on increasing their participation in the labour force, enhancing their skills, providing them with a decent work environment and protecting them from all forms of violence and discrimination that hinder their progress”.

The conference aimed at highlighting the importance of improving the quality of services in daycares, and the expansion of social protections for workers in the sector. 

The conference also aimed at developing an updated version of the national framework for daycares, coordinating efforts and enhancing participatory work among all concerned parties, in addition to honoring institutions and individuals who contributed to supporting national efforts in this file.

Also addressing the conference, French Ambassador to Jordan Alexis le Cour Grandmaison stressed that equality between women and men, at all levels, is a priority for France.

“This falls within the framework of feminist diplomacy that our country exalts. In this regard, I am pleased with the active cooperation we have developed on critical issues, equal rights and equal employment opportunities,” the French ambassador said.

SADAQA Executive Team Member Randa Naffa stated that one of the main outcomes of the national conference is to come up with “a road map to develop the various components of the national framework for daycares”.

This, Naffa added, includes legislation, quality of childhood care services, social protection for workers in the sector, among other issues.

Gender Technical Specialist Reem Aslan at the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Regional Office for Arab States said although Jordan did not ratify Convention 156 relating to persons with family responsibilities and Convention 183 relating to maternity protection, “it has taken major legislative and practical steps to ensure social justice and decent work for parents”.

“Today, this was evident in SADAQA’s event, where all national entities were brought together to work on the second version of the National Framework for Daycare,” Aslan told the gathering.

The framework will allow Jordan to take further steps to ensure the service of childcare is universal, regardless of women’s employment status in the informal or formal sectors, or if they are attending development programmes or looking for work, Aslan added.

The event did not only include social dialogue between workers, employers and government representatives, but also voices of CSOs and experts in the field, Aslan maintained.

This work is seen by the ILO as pioneering work in the region that many other Arab countries are learning from, according to Aslan.

Also during the one-day event, Diana Daghlas, one of many daycare workers trained by SADAQA, spoke about the impact that the organisation left on her life and career.

“I enrolled in one of the trainings offered by SADAQA because we gained a lot of experience and exposure on how to better perform in the daycare centres we work for,” Daghlas said.

Meanwhile, Pharmacist Basma Hassan, a mother of three, also shared her story on how much she benefitted from the daycare centres with the gathering.

“I was always looking for a safe and good daycare centre to leave my children at so I can be psychologically relaxed while I am at work,” Hassan said.

The daycare centres, Hassan added, “are having a positive effect on my children, who have gained many skills, are happier and are developing good relationships with other children”.

The participants called on the local and governmental entities to hold more training opportunities for daycare workers, offer first aid training sessions and establish a government fund to support the establishment and support of daycare centres and their workers.

The participants also suggested that the government introduce tax incentives for working families, for companies that establish daycare centres and for the currently operating entities.

The conference showcased the outputs of the project SADAQA executed with the support of the French Embassy on expanding the umbrella of social protection and improving daycare services in the care sector, which was executed over the past year and a half, under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Development, according to a statement from SADAQA.

The main outcomes of the project included a road map detailing information on daycares in Jordan, a quality assurance tool and an operational manual and guidelines targeting daycares, the statement said.  

The project also included a training component for caregivers and daycare managers, as well as workshops to raise the quality of the administrative, human resources and financial services provided by daycares, the statement added.

The project also included a technical support visit by the French National Fund for Family Allocations, a branch of the French Social Security, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, SADAQA in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and the International Labour Organisation developed a national framework for daycares in 2017, followed by another updated version in 2019 with the aim of expanding the implementation of Article 72 of the Labour Law governing the establishment of workplace daycares.

The framework included a detailed action plan to achieve goals that seek to enhance women’s economic participation in connection with the provision of daycares, activating the labour law and legislation related to women’s work — including Article 72 — facilitating the registration, licensing and monitoring process for daycares, among others.