Birleşik Metal-İş Women’s Commission Protests Government’s Creche Plan: ‘A Creche is a Fundamental Right, a Neighboring Mother is Not a Solution!’

ANKARA – The Women's Commission of the Birleşik Metal-İş Union has issued a strong protest against the "Neighboring Mother" project planned by the Ministry of Family and Social Services to ease the burden of childcare for women. In a press release, the Commission emphasized that such projects do not offer a permanent solution and that childcare is a fundamental responsibility of a social state, which must be provided through creches.

The Women's Commission stated that the government is trying to evade the biggest obstacle to women’s employment—childcare—with temporary and unsecured measures like the "Grandma Project." The statement highlighted that the responsibility for childcare is still being placed on women's shoulders, which forces them to withdraw from the workforce.

“This Project Worsens the Problem When Public Creches Are Insufficient”

The press release pointed out that while the "Neighboring Mother" project is a complementary program in international examples, in Turkey, due to the inadequate creche infrastructure, it will not solve the problem but will rather deepen it. The Birleşik Metal-İş Women's Commission argued that in order for children to grow up in a safe and healthy environment, high-quality, accessible, and free public creches should be made widespread.

The Union’s Women's Commission called on the government to provide permanent solutions, stating, "To ensure children's safety and protection from violence and abuse, quality, accessible, and free public creches must be expanded, including in organized industrial zones. The need for childcare cannot be glossed over with temporary and superficial models like ‘Neighboring Mother,’ which will start and end with funding."