Childcare in Upper Austria – “Families need more than just a minimum”

In the long term, you should set your goals high, warns Chamber of Commerce chairman Doris Hummer, who sees the ‘free crèches’ (they continue to pay in the afternoon) as another important step towards a better balance between family and work . But only one step. Hummer says: “Especially in times of acute labor shortages and skilled labor shortages, a functioning and well-developed childcare system must be a top priority as it makes an important contribution to fully realizing the potential of the workforce – especially that of women. Our clear aim is therefore to provide a comprehensive range of education and childcare places for children all year round, with opening times that meet the needs of working parents. Naturally, this expansion also depends on financial resources.”

Another way to get out of the part-time republic
The Upper Austrian Industrial Association welcomes further improvements in childcare in Upper Austria: “Costs should not be an obstacle to ensuring that family and work are compatible. Part-time should not be an involuntary decision chosen for financial reasons.” However, there are other, more important contributions to reducing the high part-time rate in Upper Austria, as IV OÖ director Joachim Haindl-Grutsch notes: “As long as there is (more) performance in our work, the country is not worth it, as long as part-time work remains the preferred working model – regardless of whether childcare is needed or not!” Only better tax treatment for full-time work will lead to more people expanding their working hours.

SPÖ sees that there is still a lot to catch up on
Although SPÖ education spokeswoman Doris Margreiter welcomes the free morning in the nursery, she believes it is not ambitious enough: “Upper Austria has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to childcare: on the one hand, there is a lack of full-time facilities and childcare in the afternoon, on the other hand, are still due. If the state government really wants to become the number 1 children’s country, much more ambitious measures are needed!” criticizes Margreiter and calls for a legal right to free education for children from the age of one.

What the Greens and NEOS say
“With free childcare for children under three years old in the morning, the state coalition is simply bowing to reality – in the next step, the afternoon fee must be abolished,” demands Green club president Severin Mayr. “Families need more than the minimum,” says NEOS state spokesman Felix Eypeltauer, who gives us the title of this report. And he adds: “As long as there is no free afternoon care and appropriate opening hours, there can be no real freedom of choice for families.”

What the AK childcare atlas shows
The current situation regarding the care of children under the age of three in Upper Austria is described in the most recent AK Childcare Atlas as follows: “Only 6.4 percent of the 438 municipalities in Upper Austria have full-time childcare for children under the age of three. This is an increase of only 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year. Improvements for this age group only occur with homeopathic doses. The district with the highest share of 1A municipalities is by far the district of Linz-Land (including Linz-Stadt) with 26.1 percent. Steyr-Land (including Steyr-Stadt) comes closest with 14.3 percent and Grieskirchen (12.1 percent). In the districts of Ried and Rohrbach there is not a single 1A community in this age group.”