CELEX: 51991PC0233
Language: en
Date: 1991-08-28
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON CHILD CARE

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                            C0M(91) 233 final
                                            Brussels, 28 August 1991
        sW                    Proposal for a
                          COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
                               on chiId care
        WM^'
                       (presented by the Commission)
Jii^lSSfeK
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 2 -
                          EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
A.   BACKGROUND
 1.  In 1989, eleven Member States of the European Community adopted the
     Community Charter of basic social rights of workers with certain
     undertakings regarding the development of equal opportunities for men
     and women (Paragraph 16) and the reconciliation of occupational and
     famiIy obiigat ions.
2.   In its action programme implementing       the Community Charter, the
     Commission has included among         its  aims the adoption of a
     Recommendation concerning child care.
3.   Studies have shown inadequacies and gaps in all the Member States and
     that measures are required to reconcile family responsibilities
     arising from the care and upbringing of children with the employment,
     education and training of parents and other adults with family
     responsibilities for children; and the adverse effects of this
     situation on the attainment of equal opportunities for men and women
     in employment, training and education and the well-being of their
     families<1M2)(3).
4.   The Commission Action Programme implementing the Community Charter of
     basic social rights for workers notes that, as early as 1982, the
     First Action Programme on Equality highlighted the link between
     employment and childcare. The Second Community Action Programme on
     the Promotion of Equal Opportunities for Women (1985-1990) noted
     that: M A sine qua non for the promotion of true equality at work is
     the sharing of family and occupational responsibilities, particularly
     the development of adequate child-minding facilities and a review of
     social infrastructures in general".
5.   The Third Medium-Term       Community    Action  Programme on    Equal
     Opportunities for Women and Men (1991-1995), in the context of
     improving the working conditions and the reconciliation between work
     and family responsibilities for men and women, envisages the
     Commission undertaking measures concerning the development of child
     care facilities and leave for family reasons.
(1)  "Childcare and Equality of Opportunity". Consolidated Report to the
    European Commission, Peter Moss, Co-ordinator, Childcare Network,
    based on national reports of Network representatives in the Twelve
    Member States, April 1988.
(2) "Infrastructure and Women's Employment : Centre for Research on
    European Women (CREW) and James McLoone and Maire 0'Leary,
    University     College,    Galway,     V/174/90-EN,    October   1989.
(3) "Who Cares for Europe's Children ?". by A. PHI I lips and P. MOSS,
    Brussels, European Commission, 1989.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 3 -
6.  The communication from the Commission on Family Policies of 8 August
    1989( 4 ) mentions the need to continue actions to reconcile
    professional and family life and to encourage the sharing of family
    responsibilities    and   attaches   particular  importance   to   the
     intensification of current work relating to the "Childcare Network".
     It also draws attention in this context to the need for job
    flexibility, the development of atypical working timetables and Job
    status, and the provision of adequate basic infrastructures (working
    hours of public and private services, transport).
7.  In the present economic context, there is a clear need for closer
    approximation in levels of support for employed parents, including
    services providing care for children, in order to eliminate
    imbalances in the labour market and facilitate mobility between
    Member States. The Single Market will produce new Jobs and women
    will be able to take advantage of these, if support measures,
    including services providing care for children are available and
    affordable. These support services are also essential, if women are
    to undertake training and retraining which is crucial during periods
    of labour market restructuring. Finally, these support services are
    equally essential, if the Community is to make the optimum use of
    women's skills, talents and abilities. It is thus economically and
    socially desirable to improve the quantity and quality of services
    providing care for children and other measures intended to reconcile
    responsibilities arising from the care and upbringing of children
    with the employment, education and training of parents.
B.  SITUATION IN THE MEMBER STATES
    The Employment Position of Women and Men with Children
1.  Annex 1 provides an overview of some aspects of the employment
    position of women and men with children. This Annex shows the
    continuing differential     impact of children and their care on
    participation by men and women in the labour market; 44% of women
    with children aged 0-9 were employed in 1988, less than half the
    level for men with children (92%) and substantially lower than the
    employment rate for childless women of childbearing age (71%). Women
    with children were more likely to be employed part-time, compared to
    men with children or childless women.
2.  There is little data on the qualitative aspects of parents'
    employment (for example, type of occupation, pay and conditions,
    prospects, etc.), which would permit an assessment of the impact of
    children and their care on these aspects of the employment position
    of men and women.
    Gaps in Service Provision
3.  Annex 2 shows the number of places in pub 11cIy-funded serv i ces for
    children up to the age of 10, as a percentage of the child
    population; it excludes children attending primary school, which is
    compulsory in all the Member States, but shows the hours that
    children attend primary schools, and therefore the        contribution
    that these schools make to children's care. Although information on
    the private sector is more sketchy, there are indications of
    substantial unmet need for services throughout the Community, even in
    the country with the highest level of provision.
(4) COM (89) 363 final.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 4 -
4.   !n addition to levels of provision varying substantially between
    Member States, differences also exist within individual Member
    States, so that there are disparities between regions regarding
    access to services. In general, cities tend to be better served than
    rural areas regarding public provision.
    Ages of Children covered by existing services
5.  There is a high level of unmet need for children under three, with
    places for 5% or less of children under three in services in eight
    Member States. Places in publicly-funded pro-primary schooling or
    kindergartens for children over the age of three, but below
    compulsory school age, are more common. Four countries provide such
    provision for over 80% of children-, six for 50%-80%; and two for
    under 50%. In many countries, however, the hours of opening of these
    services, like primary schools are such that they need to be
    supplemented by services providing "outside school hours" care.
    There is, however, also a high level of unmet need for services
    providing this type of care with very low levels of provision in many
    countries* 5 ^ (see Annex 1, last column).
6.  Public funding may be supplemented by other sources of funding, for
    example from parents and employers. At present the extent of public
    funding varies widely, not only between Member States, but also for
    different age groups of children within Member States. Except in one
    Member State, most parents with children under 3 must rely on
    privately funded services; parents with children under 3 using
    publicly funded services, and parents with older children at
    kindergarten, have to pay according to income, although levels of
    payment vary between Member States; parents with children in pre-
    primary or primary school make no payment although they may have to
    pay for "outside school hours" care. In five countries, there is
    some degree of tax relief to parents for costs incurred in using
    services, but this subsidy is much less than that given to parents
    using publicly-funded services and is not income-related so as to
    give more assistance to lower income families.
7.  Moreover, research suggests that a barrier to increased labour force
    participation rates, and more particularly employment rates, among
    women is the presence or absence of suitable childcare arrangements
    for children from 0 to 10 and not merely creches for babies.     Care
    for children of school age fails to be provided for more than a third
    of children in any country and is virtually non-existent or very low
     in nine Member States. While variations can partly be explained by
    different levels of need and national income, this is only a partial
    explanation for the unequal access to services that exists.
(5) "Childcare in the European Communities. 1985-1990". Published in
    "Women in Europe", August, 1990. Peter Moss, Co-ordinator, Childcare
    Network.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 5 -
8.    Major gaps in information make it impossible to provide comprehensive
      and comparative data on the position in Member States, not only as
      regards services providing care for children, but also leave
      arrangements for employed parents with responsibility for the care
      and upbringing of children, the environment, structure and
      organisation    of  the workplace    and   the   sharing  of   family
      responsibilities which are component parts of a broad approach to
      child care (see section C below).
9.    Information on privately funded childcare services is generally
      inadequate, if available at all. Many women, however, seek private
      solutions. Surveys show that relatives provide childcare for most
      children under 3 in all Member States but one and private or
      workplace nurseries provide less than 2% of care for the under-threes
      in a 11 countries.
Leave Arrangements for employed parents with responsibility for the care
and upbringing of children
10.   Annex 3 provides an overview of Parental Leave. Main points about
      this provision are that parental leave is offered in 8 countries, one
      offers a more general leave which can be used for child care
      purposes; there is no provision in three countries. Periods of leave
      vary from 10 weeks to nearly 3 years. Except for Denmark, parents
      taking leave receive either no payment or else a payment that is low
      in relation to normal earnings; leave is also inflexible in terms of
      the degree of choice available to parents in how they may take leave
      (for example, parents may not choose between taking leave on a full-
      time or part-time basis, or between taking it in one bloc of time or
      several). Leave is taken overwhelmingly by mothers.
11.   In addition to this form of leave, six countries provide some
      statutory leave to care for sick children, but this is only paid in
      three cases. Only Denmark provides statutory Paternity Leave.
Environment, structure and organisation of the workplace
12.   As regards initiatives to reconcile working and family life in the
      context of the environment, structure and organization of the
      workplace, national studies in a few Member States suggest that
      developments have, so far, been limited and uneven in application
      < 6 ) (7) (8).
Sharing of Family Responsibilities
13.   A major change that has taken place in employment in the past
      20 years is the growing proportion of women (especially married
(6)   "The Industrial Relations Review and Report". UK, May-June, 1989.
(7)   "Retaining Women Employees". Hilary Metcalf, Institute of Manpower
      Studies Report, UK, 1990.
(8)   "Maternity Rights: the Experience of Women and Employers". S. McRae,
      W.W. Daniel, Policy Studies Institute, UK, 1991.
 ---pagebreak---                                  - 6 -
   women) in the labour force. However, women's increased participation
    in the world of work has not been accompanied by the measures
   necessary to achieve a matching reduction in women's share of family
   responsibilities, and to facilitate the reconciliation of employment
   and family responsibilities for both men and women.    Many women are
   still forced into making undesirable choices between a career at
   work, carrying the double burden of also being mainly responsible for
   the family or a career at home, and in the main expected to make
   arrangements for caring for children and relatives and giving up
   their leisure time and even part or all of their work, if the need
   arises.
C. THE BROAD APPROACH TO CHILD CARE
1. An essential component of child care services is the need for
   quality. Quality in child care must mean that which is conducive to
   the welfare and development of the child. It is important to break
   down the false distinction between care and education, so that there
   is no stigmatisation of "care", in so much as it is seen as a
   "parking service" for parents at work. Services should be flexible,
   local, and multi-functional.        Good quality child care is an
   inseparable issue from that of the people who work to provide those
   services. Moreover, services of poor quality will constrain women's
   employment, deterring some from entering the labour market and
   providing an additional source of stress for women already employed.
2. Reconciling family responsibilities arising from the care and
   upbringing of children with employment, education and training
   requires measures in four areas : high quality services to provide
   care for children while parents with family responsibilities for
   children are employed or receiving education or training; leave
   arrangements for parents with responsibility for the care and
   upbringing of children; changes in the culture and structure of
   individual workplaces, to make workplaces supportive of the needs of
   workers with responsibilities for the care and upbringing of
   children; the more equal sharing of family responsibilities arising
   from the care and upbringing of children, particularly between men
   and women. Each area        is necessary, but     not  sufficient. A
   comprehensive and coherent programme, covering all these areas, is
   needed.
D. SERVICES TO PROVIDE CARE FOR CHILDREN
1. There is a range of services which may be provided in institutions
   such as nurseries, kindergartens, pre-primary or primary schools,
   centres providing out-of-school care; or by childminders in organised
   childcaring schemes.
2. The main points about such child care services are:
      (i) There are major and unjustifiable inconsistencies, or lack of
          coherence, between services in a number of important areas,
          including     accessibility; funding and costs to parents;
          availability of places; hours of opening*, orientation and
          purpose; administrative responsibility; training, pay and
          conditions of workers.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 7 -
     (ii) Services need to work closely with local communities and with
          parents. This includes : responsiveness to local and parental
          needs and circumstances; regular contact and exchanges of
           information; and creating opportunities for parents and local
          communities to influence the objectives and management of
          services.
    (ill) Although Annex 2 covers only services for children until the
          age of 10, it should be recalled that family responsibilities
          arising from the care of children are wide-ranging and continue
          to exist at least until children leave school, although the
          nature of these responsibilities change, as children get older
          and become less dependent.
     (iv) Nearly all workers in the relevant services, whether publicly
          or privately funded, are women. The conditions and training of
          workers in child care services should be improved to reflect
          the importance of their work.
      (v) While some parents use private arrangements from choice, many
          others do so for lack of publicly-funded services. Increased
          services at an affordable cost are therefore necessary to
          ensure that there is a closing of the gap between demand and
          the existing level of services. Given that the need for child
          care is not a matter concerning parents alone, but is of
          economic and social consequence, public funding should also
          make an important contribution to provision.
     (vi) Where public funding is supplemented by other sources of
          funding, for example from parents and employers, this should be
          part of a coherent and comprehensive policy on the funding of
          services. Where services are provided          in workplaces or
          otherwise supported by individual employers, this should be
          regarded as a supplement to locally based, integrated services
          and not as an alternative and should be provided within the
          framework of a fully developed equal opportunities policy.
E.  LEAVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMPLOYED PARENTS WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
    CARE AND UPBRINGING OF CHILDREN
    Working parents may not always be able or willing to leave the care
    of their children to professional or other chiIdminders. An
    intrinsic feature of child care is therefore the need for various
    forms of leave from work to enable parents to be absent from
    employment at key times and return without loss of Job, seniority or
    interruption of their contractual relationship* 9 ).
(9) "The impact of the Completion of the Internal Market on Women in the
    European Community".
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 8-
F. THE ENVIRONMENT. STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF THE WORKPLACE
1. The working environment, workplace practice and attitudes are also a
   crucial element in a broad approach to childcare. Arrangements in
   these areas may additionally permit continuity of working careers and
   contribute towards reducing the costs of staff turnover.
2. There is therefore a need to increase understanding amongst employers
   and trade unions of the importance of improving the environment,
   structure and organisation of individual workplaces and of the means
   to do this. Measures are needed to review the situation in
   workplaces, to introduce appropriate initiatives and to monitor their
   effectiveness, to stimulate, evaluate and disseminate innovative
   measures of good employment practice. Examples of such practice
   include the hours at which meetings are held to avoid incompatibility
   with the need to collect children rom creches; the importance of
   giving adequate notice of the need to travel; the need for flexible
   working hours, etc.
G. SHARING OF FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES
   Women carry too great a share of responsibilities and that is one of
   the fundamental causes of women's unequal position on the labour
   market and consequent inequalities in employment and income. Wage
   rates and occupation position - central criteria for assessing
   quality - are not determined purely by market forces, but by the
   social costs of reproduction which are unequally distributed. A
   greater involvement of men in family responsibilities seems crucial,
   if women are to enter the labour market on an equal footing and to
   improve the quality of their working and personal lives. As well as
   taking a fair share of family responsibilities, men should equally be
   able to benefit from the full range of measures to reconcile family
   and professional life without Jeopardising their own chances of
   career development or running the risk of hostile attitudes. Changes
   in male attitudes are needed both in the home and workplace to make
   the working environment more sympathetic and responsive to the needs
   of chiIdren.
H. THE NEED FOR INFORMATION
   There is a need to make appropriate arrangements to gather regularly
   information on : the supply and distribution of care and education
   services for children; the take-up and use of services by families
   and the costs for families; the take-up and use of leave-, the
   provision of employment benefits resulting from collective or
   workplace agreements intended to provide support to workers with
   family responsibilities, and the use of these benefits; and the level
   of participation by men In the care of children. In gathering
    information and reviewing progress in achieving policy objectives,
   particular attention should be paid to the position of certain groups
   of families, including : lone parents; low income families; rural
   families; and families with special and/or other special needs.
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 9 -
J.    OVERALL CONCLUSIONS
1.     In the Commission's view, it emerges from the analysis of the issues
      examined above that the Member States should undertake measures to
      enable women and men to reconcile employment, education and training
      with responsibilities arising from the care and upbringing of
      children. The Commission therefore recommends that the Member States
      should undertake a number of specific initiatives, in order to ensure
      that all parents with such responsibilities have access to locally-
      based and good quality services.
2.    Given that there are major gaps of information, particularly
      concerning the supply of privately funded services, the care
      arrangements made for children while parents are employed and the
      quality of services, it will be necessary to take steps to rectify
      these inadequacies.      This process should aim to increase the level
      of knowledge about the provision of care for children to that which
      already exists on the educational system in general.
3.    The Commission undertakes : (a) to promote, in collaboration with the
      Member States and the Social Partners, the exchange, assessment and
      dissemination of information and experience in this field-, and (b) to
      support projects which are innovative and of transnational relevance
      and disseminate the results.
Annexes:   3
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  Parental Employment, 1988
                          % employed -         % employed - men % employed -         Change in %        % unemployed -   % unemployed -
                          women with child     with child under women aged 20-       employed, 1985-88  women with child men with child
                          under 10             10               39, without          • women with child under 10         under 10
                                                                children             under 10
  Germany                 38% (21%)            94% (1%)         75% (15%)            +2.6% (+2.5%)      6%               3%
  France                  56% (16%)            93% (1%)         75% (11%)            + 1.3% (+1.9%)     10%              5%
  Italy                   42% (5%)             95% (2%)         55% (4%)             +3.6% (+0.7%)      8%               3%
  Netherlands             32% (27%)            91% (9%)         68% (30%)            +8.2% (+7.7%)      8%               5%
  Belgium                 54% (16%)            92% (1%)         68% (13%)            +2.8% (+2.4%)      12%              5%
  Luxembourg              38% (10%)            98% (-)          69% (5%)             +3.7% (0.6%)       2%               1%
j United Kingdom          46% (32%)            88% (1%)         83% (20%)            +7.5% (+6%)        8%               8%             o
                                                                                                                                        I
 [ Ireland                23% (7%)             79% (1%)         67% (6%)             +5.1% (+1.5%)      8%               17%
| Denmark                 79% (32%)            95% (2%)         79% (6%)             +2.6% (-1.5%)      8%               3%
 1 tiroecc                4 1 % (5%)           95% (1%)         52% (3%)             +3.8% (-0.2%)      6%               3%
   Portugal                62% (4%)            95% (1%)         69% (6%)             No Information     6%               2%
    Sp.tin                 28% (4%)            89% (1%)         44% (5%)             No Information     10%              8%
    Kuropoan               44% (17%)           92% (2%)         71% (13%)            No Information     8%               5%
    Community
    Kt/y. Figures in brackets = % employed part-time
                                                                                                                                  I >
                                                                                                                                  I z
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                                                                                                                                  i m
                                                                                                                                  i x
                                                                                                                                  i
 ---pagebreak---                                             Places in publicly funded childcare services as % of all children in the age group
                        Date to which data     For children under     For children from 3     Age when               Length of school    Outside school
                        refer                  3                      to compulsory           compulsory             day (including      hours care for
                                                                      school age              schooling begins       midday break)       primary school
                                                                                                                                         children
Germany                 1987                   3%                     65-70%                  6-7 years              4-5 hours (a)       4%
France                  1988                   20%                    95%+                    6 years                8 hours             ?
Italy                   1986                    5%                    85% +                   6 years                4 hours             ?
Netherlands             1989                    2%                    50-55%                  5 years                6-7 hours           1%
                                                20%                   95%+                    6 years                7 hours             ?
Belgium                 1988
Luxembourg              1989                    2%                    55-60%                  5 years                4-8 hours (a)       1%
United Kingdom           1988                   2%                    35-40%                  5 years                6V6 hours           (-)
                                                                                                                           ,
Ireland                  1988                   2%                    55%                     6 years                4'/i-6 /i hours (b) (-)
 Denmark                 1989,                  48%                   85%                     7 years                3-5V* hours (a,b)   29%
                                                                                                         •
 Greece                  1988                   4%                    65-70%                  5Vi years              4-5 hours (b)       (-)
 Portugal                1988                   6%                    35%                   j 6 years                6Vi hours           6%
 Spain                   1988                   ?                     65-70%                  6 years                8 hours             (-)
 NB. This Table should be read in conjunction with the national reports, which contain important qualifications and explanations. The Table shows the
 number of places in publicly funded services as a % of the child population; the % of children attending may be higher because some places are used on
  a part-time basis. Provision at playgroups in the Netherlands has not been included, although 10% of children under 3 and 25% of children aged 3-4
  attend and most playgroups receive public funds. Average hours of attendance - 5-6 hours per week - are so much shoner than for other services, that it
  would be difficult and potentially misleading to include them on the same basis as other services; however playgroups should not be forgotten when
 considering publicly funded provision in the Netherlands.
 Key: ? » no information; (-) - less than 0.5%; (a) - school hours vary from day to day; (b) « school hours increase as children get older.
                                                                                                                                                     II >
                                                                                                                                                     II z
                                                                                                                                                     II z
                                                                                                                                                     il m
                                                                                                                                                     it x
                                                                                                                                                     il
 ---pagebreak---                                        \  j
                                                               &
                                                                      Annex 3
              Parental Leave     *
Cicmiany      18 months. Low flat-rate payment for 6
              months; payment then depends on family
              income, so higher income family gets less   Parental leave means entitlement to leave of a given
                                                          duration to wage-earners/ fathers, mothers, including
France      I Until child is 3. No payment unless 3 or    staff working in the public sector, consequential
              more children; then low, flat-rate payment  upon the birth of a child, during the period following
                                                          the termination of maternity leave, or to workers as
Italy         6 months. 30% of earnings                   defined above, or the adoption of a child during the
                                                          period following its reception in the adoptive parents'
Belgium       None, but workers can take leave for family household, during which period of leave the beneficiary
              or personal reasons (sec national report)   takes responsibility for the actual care of the child.
Netherlands   None, but Government proposal for part-
              time leave has been made
Luxembourg    None
United        None
                                                                                                                 i
Kingdom
                        «
Ireland       None
Denmark       10 weeks. 90% of earnings (up to a
              maximum level)
Greece        3 months per parent. Unpaid
Portugal      24 months. Unpaid
Spain          12 months. Unpaid
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 13 -
                               Proposal for a
                           COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
                                on chlId care
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
and in particular Article 235 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission(1)
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament of...
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic Social Committee of...
Whereas point 16 of the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights
of Workers calls for measures to be developed to enable men and women to
reconcile their occupational and family obligations;
Whereas the Commission in its action programme implementing the Community
Charter has included among its aims the adoption of a recommendation
concerning child care;
Whereas the Community Charter notes that child-care methods, parental leave
and maternity leave form part of a whole which enables people to combine
their family responsibilities and occupational ambitions, and a Community
response alone will not suffice, if this objective is to be attained;
Whereas in its Third Medium-Term Action Programme on Equal Opportunities
for Women and Men (1991-1995), the Commission identified the need for
further action in this area;
Whereas the Communication from the Commission on Family Policies^2* draws
attention to the need to continue actions to reconcile professional and
family life and encourage the sharing of family responsibilities, and
emphasises the importance of intensifying work relating to child care;
Whereas the reconciliation of professional and family life has to be viewed
in a wide perspective and it is important for the Community to promote a
global policy aiming to achieve this reconciliation;
Whereas it is essential to promote the well-being of children and families,
ensuring that the needs of all children and families are met and taking
into account that responsibilities arising from the care and upbringing of
children continue up to and throughout the period of children's schooling,
and to recognise the diversity that exists in the employment and household
circumstances of parents;
(1)
(2)   C0M(89) 363 final, 8.8.1989.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 14
Whereas inadequate provision of good quality, affordable services providing
care for children and other measures to reconcile responsibility for the
care and upbringing of children with the employment, education and training
of parents constitutes a major barrier to women's access to and full
participation in employment, education and training, on equal terms with
men, as well as full participation in all areas of society;
Whereas   improvements  in services and other measures to reconcile
responsibilities for the care and upbringing of children with the
employment, education and training of parents are crucial in order to
enable women to take full and equal advantage of the favourable effects of
the Single Market;
Whereas furthermore, adequate services providing care for children could
facilitate freedom of movement of workers and mobility on the European
labour market;
Whereas child care is a broad concept which involves good quality service
provision, the development of a working environment which is supportive of
parents with responsibility for the care and upbringing of children, and
the sharing of family responsibilities between women and men;
Whereas lack of services providing care for children and other measures to
reconcile the care and upbringing of children with the employment,
education and training of parents hinders the effective use of women's
talents, skills and abilities and whereas demographic trends and structural
changes on the labour market call for these to be better used;
Whereas some of the Member States have undertaken initiatives in this area
but the measures involved have often remained limited;
Whereas in all Member States the demand for good quality, affordable care
for children considerably exceeds the existing supply;
Whereas, moreover, disparities exist in good quality, affordable services
providing care for children and other measures to reconcile the care and
upbringing of children with the employment, education and training of
parents between Member States and between regions within Member States;
Whereas the standard clause included in the Community Support Frameworks
for structural policy stipulates that the actions and measures taken within
such a framework must conform with and, where appropriate, contribute to
the implementation of Community policy and legislation relating to
equality of opportunity between women and men, and that in particular,
consideration must be given to training and infrastructure requirements
which facilitate labour force participation by women with children;
Whereas, furthermore, in the NOW Community Initiative for the promotion of
equal opportunities for women in the field of employment and vocational
training, child-care measures are provided to assist women with children
to have access to the labour market and to vocational training courses;
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 15 -
Whereas it is therefore important to establish Community guidelines for
carrying out a number of specific comprehensive actions, in order to ensure
the development of good quality and affordable services providing care for
children and other measures to reconcile the care and upbringing of
children with the employment, education and training of parents,
HEREBY RECOMMENDS AS FOLLOWS
                                   Article 1
It is recommended that Member States develop measures in order to enable
women and men to reconcile their occupational and their family obligations,
arising from the care and upbringing of children.
                                   Article 2
It is recommended that, to this end, the Member States develop with the
appropriate involvement of central, regional and local authorities, the
Social Partners and other relevant organisations, measures in the following
four areas:
         (i) the provision of care for children while parents are       in or
              seeking employment, education or training;
       (II) leave arrangements for employed parents with responsibility for
              the care and upbringing of children-,
      ( I N ) the environment, structure and organisation of the workplace,
              to make it responsive to the needs of workers with children;
       (iv) the sharing of family responsibilities arising from the care
              and upbringing of children between women and men.
                                   Article 3
In relation to the provision of services providing care for children, it is
recommended that Member States should take measures designed to:
      (a)     enable all parents in or seeking employment, education or
              training to have access to locally based and good quality
              services. This requires that services are affordable, services
              combine safe and secure care with a broad education or
              pedagogical approach, the needs of parents and children are
              taken into account in determining access to services, services
              should be available In all areas and regions of Member States,
              both urban and rural areas, services should ensure access to
              children with special needs, with linguistic needs and to
              children in lone parent families, and be responsive to those
              needs ;
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      (b)    encourage flexibility and diversity of services, as part of a
             strategy to increase choice and meet the different preferences,
             needs and circumstances of children and families. Thi^ should
             be combined with coherence between different services;
      (c)    seek to improve the training (both initial and continous) of
             workers in child-care services, with the objective of ensuring
             that this training is appropriate to the great importance and
             social and educative value of their work;
      (d)    encourage services to work closely with parents and with local
             communities involving regular contact and exchanges of
             information, so as to be responsive to local parental needs and
             circumstances;
      (e)    ensure that public funding makes an essential contribution to
             the development of affordable, good quality, coherent services
             which offer choice to parents.
                                  Article 4
In relation to leave arrangements for employed parents with responsibility
for the care and upbringing of children, it is recommended that Member
States should continue to develop measures to take realistic account of
women's increased participation in the labour force. This requires the
provision of leave to enable all employed parents, both men and women, to
discharge effectively their dual working and family responsibilities, with,
inter al la. flexibility in how leave may be taken.
                                  Article 5
In relation to the environment, structure and organisation           of  the
workplace, it is recommended that Member States should:
      (a)    encourage both sides of industry to promote action, inter
             ai la. within the framework of collective agreements, to make
             the environment, structure and organisation of individual
             workplaces supportive of the needs of all working parents with
             responsibilities for the care and upbringing of children;
      (b)    undertake initiatives to improve the employment conditions of
             workers in services providing care for children and ensure that
             the social value of their work is recognized;
      (c)    promote action especially in the public sector which might
             serve as an example in developing initiatives in this area.
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                                 Article 6
In relation to responsibilities arising from the care and upbringing of
children, it is recommended that Member States promote and encourage
increased participation by men, in order to achieve a more equal sharing of
parental responsibilities between men and women.
                                 Article 7
The Member States shall inform the Commission, within three years of the
date of the adoption of this Recommendation, of the measures taken to give
effect to it, in order to allow the Commission to draw up a report on all
such measures.
Done at Brussels,                                For the Council
                                                 The President
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(91) 233 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              05
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-371-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-75325-0
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
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