Ministry of Population and Family Development Collaborates with Labour Ministry to Strengthen Workplace Daycare Operations

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga)/BKKBN is collaborating with the Labour Ministry (Kemnaker) to strengthen the operations of childcare facilities or daycares in workplaces.

Deputy Head of Kemendukbangga/Wakil Kepala BKKBN Ratu Ayu Isyana Bagoes Oka, in her meeting with Deputy Labour Minister Afriansyah Noor on Monday, discussed the strengthening of daycare operations and regulations, particularly to protect workers and children.

“Childcare facilities represent a highly strategic solution, not only to ensure quality child rearing but also to increase women’s participation in the workforce while maximising the demographic dividend,” said Isyana in Jakarta on Monday.

According to her, cross-ministerial collaboration is crucial in enhancing human resource quality from an early age through optimal child rearing.

“If we want to improve human resource quality, interventions must be made from an early stage, starting from child rearing, nutrition, to children’s mental health,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Deputy Labour Minister Afriansyah Noor emphasised that the daycare issue is not merely about child protection but also part of the labour system that must be strengthened regulatorily.

“Improving the daycare system is not just a child protection issue, but also a normative obligation for companies to provide worker welfare facilities. This is a strategic labour issue,” he stated.

“We need to ensure national certification for caregivers, regulation of child-to-caregiver ratios, and an integrated supervision system to prevent violence and improve service quality,” he added.

Meanwhile, Director of Toddler and Child Family Development at Kemendukbangga/BKKBN Irma Ardiana stressed the importance of data integration and policy flexibility in implementing daycares across various sectors, including company-based ones, given the significant challenges in meeting standards due to the diverse conditions of companies.

On the other hand, Director of Labour Social Security at the Labour Ministry C. Heru Widianto noted that the percentage of companies with daycares remains low, so their development needs to be encouraged more broadly, including meeting minimum operational standards for childcare facilities that cover aspects of security, caregiver competency, educational programmes, and social security protection for caregiver workers.