The ECA position statement review process

As part of this work, the ECA National Council has commissioned a working party to review the current range of ECA policies. The working party, made up of members from all state/territory branches, will assess each policy according to their relevance, their usefulness to members, and their capacity to assist in effective advocacy for young children.

The position statements will be reflective of the vision of the organisation and our mandate to be a voice for children.

ECA position statement: Child Care - Work Related/Work Based

1. Workrelated/workbased child care are not the same although the principles of quality child care services apply to both concepts.



2. Workbased and workrelated child care could fulfill the child care needs of many families and as such should be actively and systematically supported by ECA. Obviously, ECA standards relating to child/staff ratio, space, equipment, etc. will apply.



3. Workbased and workrelated child care lends itself to sites which are close to the work place of a large number of workers with young children, e.g. hospitals, military establishments, education campuses, shopping complexes and industrial estates. ECA should ensure that local governments understand the necessity for the inclusion of workbased/workrelated child care facilities in any major commercial/industrial development and employment situations including places of work such as the National Library and Parliament House, that is submitted to them for approval.



4. Variations on governmentsubsidised centrebased child care should be taken into account when considering workrelated child care. Options include an employersponsored voucher system in established centrebased and homebased child care, and employersubsidised or subsidised places in established care services.



5. ECA must strive to create a working partnership with trade unions, builders, consortium owners and others who have a commitment to, or are interested in, workbased or workrelated child care; ECA must become an advocate for children for such care in appropriate situations. This commitment will include the sharing of expertise, membership of committees, publication of relevant material and public education programs about workrelated and workbased child care.



6. Workrelated children's services provide opportunities for working parents to choose to have their child/ren cared for at or near the workplace



7. In addition to the principles and concerns of all communitybased children's services (refer to the Statement on Early Childhood Services) workrelated children's services acknowledge
   
   • the right of parents to identify with the workplace of their coworkers as the focus of their social/community activities;
   • the desirability of parental involvement in the planning and management of the services in which their child/ren are cared for;
   • the need for quality children's services to operate during the hours in which parents work, including evenings and nights.


8. In order to provide quality services and protect the rights of parents, workrelated children's services should:
   
   • be controlled by an independent, incorporated, nonprofit organisation;
   • be managed by a committee comprising a majority of users with representatives from:
     
     • employers
     • the community
     • relevant unions
   • provide access to children whose parents live or work nearby;
   • guarantee that a child's access to the services is unrelated to the parents' employment status or any change therein.
   
   
9. As well, workrelated children's services provide:
   
   • access at hours appropriate to local industry;
   • opportunities for parents to visit children freely during work breaks;
   • opportunities for mothers to continue breast feeding;
   • programs for older siblings; before and after school or in vacations.