Business groups keen on free childcare idea
BUSINESS groups have voiced their support for the idea of exploring free childcare as a means of encouraging people back to work.
Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller is placing an amendment at next week’s States meeting asking for an investigation into free or subsidised childcare for infants under two and during the school holidays.
Chamber of Commerce executive director Alice Gill said there were about 8,000 non-employed Guernsey residents who could be contributing to the economy but were unable to do so for a variety of reasons, including difficulties obtaining childcare.
Ms Gill said that in Chamber’s view it was essential to achieve workforce parity between the sexes.
‘[This] is not just a matter of fairness but of economic necessity,’ she said.
‘By matching Sweden’s female labour force rates, we could see a 6% increase in GDP in Guernsey, amounting to £194m. annually.
‘From the data, we know that there are women of all ages, and both men and women over the age of 50.
‘We at Chamber are supportive of measures that remove barriers for people being in the workforce.’
Korrine Le Page, head of retail development at the Guernsey Retail Group, said there were about 200 vacancies in the sector.
The group believed they could be filled with more support for islanders wanting to enter or re-commence working in the sector.
‘The UK already offers a number of schemes providing free childcare for children up to four, which allows parents to return to the workforce and bring their skills into the community,’ she said.
‘If the same policy was adopted here, it could make a real difference to many sectors locally, including retail, so we wholeheartedly support the proposal for investigating the provision for under two-year-olds.’
Mrs Le Page said there was an obvious benefit to the economy and public finances, through increased income tax and social security contributions, if more people returned to work.
The Guernsey branch of the Institute of Directors said it backed any initiative which could stimulate business growth.
‘While the focus and urgent action needs to be on making our public finances sustainable, our members tell us that attracting and retaining staff is an important issue in the near term,’ said chairman Glen Tonks.
‘Therefore, we support exploring ways to improve workforce participation, productivity and ultimately business growth.’
