JEDDAH, 5 August 2007 — Working mothers who spend eight hours or more at work want daycare services at work due to the distress caused by being away from their babies and toddlers.
These mothers were relieved when the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announced two years ago new rules and regulations concerning providing daycare centers in establishments that have working mothers. The rules have not been implemented.
Mothers returning from their maternity leave continue to suffer from a lack of suitable and affordable daycare facilities for their children.
According to the law, businesses with 50 or more women and at least 10 working mothers must pay for daycare services to children under six years of age. For businesses with over 100 women, a staffed daycare facility must be provided on the premises.
The Ministry of Labor did not provide Arab News with any information about whether the new law has actually resulted in the construction of daycare facilities, how many establishments have been inspected since the law was passed, or if any companies have actually been penalized for violating the regulations.
Qusai Filali, director general at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs’ office in Jeddah, confirmed to Arab News that there is an inspection department at the ministry, and that inspections take place. Violators are warned to abide by the law, he said, without offering details or examples, except to point out that women’s schools such as Effat College, Dar Al-Hekma and Dar Al-Fikr all have onsite daycare facilities.
Regardless of whether the two-year-old law has resulted in any change or not, women who work at smaller companies say they feel left out, and face the same old problem working mothers have in much of the world: the problem and expense of daycare.
It’s difficult to say how many companies in Saudi Arabia employ more than 50 women and 10 mothers, but there are women who work in smaller companies in the Kingdom who feel that the law has left them out. They say that after maternity leave, there is little else the government is doing to help these women juggle two jobs: motherhood and whatever they do to earn a paycheck.
Fatma Ahmed, a 24-year-old working mother, is employed at a small business establishment.
“I’m happy with my job, but I was also delighted when my first baby was born; yet it’s a shame that I only get to see him when I get back home at five o’clock,” she said.
An expatriate resident says more than 100 women work at her public hospital, but it doesn’t provide a daycare facility on the premises as it should in accordance with the law.
(The female intern didn’t want to name the hospital, and Arab News withheld her name in order to protect her identity and explain why she didn’t want the name of the hospital mentioned.)
“My job is important but I sure regret being away from my daughter and wish for a daycare in which I could check up on her whenever I have a chance or a break,” said the 24-year-old resident, who uses an off-site daycare facility at her own expense.
Arab News reported on the passage of the new daycare law two years ago, and re-visited some of the mothers interviewed back then to see if the situation has changed. None of them said the law made any difference to their working experience or that they have ever witnessed a government inspector checking on their employers.
With the continued lack of daycare support from government or companies, many mothers have to choose between having children and being employed. While many women worldwide face this problem, the issue is more acute in a country with a heavy dependence on foreign workers whose government has been encouraging its citizens, including women, to work to reduce dependence on imported labor.
Manal Ahmed, a schoolteacher, said she quit her job to have children specifically because no daycare benefits are offered to her.
“My husband refused to have a child that I wouldn’t be able to take good care of and keep an eye on,” she said. “He said I either quit my job or forget having a child until daycare is provided.”
