Union calls for year of parental leave to ease pressure on Dutch childcare

As the demand for childcare in the Netherlands grows, more pressure is being felt in the sector with the continuing worker shortage. Dutch trade union CNV has suggested giving new parents a year of parental leave to ease the pressure on the childcare sector. 

Longer parental leave in the Netherlands could ease childcare pressure

CNV member Daniëlle Woestenberg proposes giving new parents longer leave so they can bond with their children and reduce the pressure on the childcare sector at the same time. Currently, employees with children get a total of 26 weeks of parental leave (not including maternity leave), a large part of it unpaid. 

Woestenberg suggests giving up to one year of leave for parents, split equally between fathers and mothers. "The entire labour market benefits from this. If you now consider the costs of allowances, childcare, and things like sick leave, it works out if you redistribute it wisely," she said. A similar model is used in Sweden, where both parents have 90 days of leave and share another 300 days of parental leave between the two of them. 

While Ed Buitenhek, a childcare advisor for nearly 30 years, agrees that increasing the amount of parental leave could help ease the childcare staff shortage somewhat, he is concerned that it could actually do the opposite for other sectors. “The question is whether the additional quality requirements for childcare outweigh the impact on the rest of the Netherlands," Buitenhek told AD.

Rising number of children attend daycare in the Netherlands

More than 1 million children attended daycare, preschool and after-school care at least once last year and over 100.000 went to childminders. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), this was a record high for the Netherlands and was concentrated in the Randstad. 

The demand for childcare is clearly growing but many childcare centres already have waiting lists. Childcare centres are experiencing severe worker shortages, and despite the introduction of a new government subsidy last year to hire unqualified workers to support trained staff, the problems are expected to worsen. 

Worker shortage in Dutch childcare sector set to worsen

The Dutch government has set a goal to make childcare almost free by 2027, something that experts have warned could put more pressure on the sector. Research agency ABF predicts that if this happens, the worker shortage could increase ninefold in 10 years in a region like Het Gooi, but the greatest pressure would be felt in provinces like Friesland and Limburg, which are short 1.500 skilled workers.

Even if childcare doesn’t become free in the Netherlands, the staff shortage is still expected to worsen. “The number of vocational (MBO) graduates set to receive a diploma in the coming years is declining, and employers will only compete more intensely for this group,” explained Buitenhek. To work in a childcare centre, staff are required to have an MBO diploma.