For working parents struggling with childcare concerns, you can now hire foreign child caregivers. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment launched its “Foreign Child Caregiver” project a few weeks ago. The project is aimed at easing the challenges associated with balancing work and childcare responsibilities. It is also to encourage families to have more children.
Before starting the project, the Department of Labour conducted a pilot phase during which 30 families were selected to hire foreign child caregivers on a first come, first served basis.
One of them is Sonam Tobgay and his family. Sonam Tobgay is a civil servant and his wife runs a business.
During the programme’s pilot phase, Sonam Tobgay applied for a foreign child caregiver to assist with his nine-year-old son. He said the introduction of such a project has proven to be a blessing for his family.
“If we don’t have such a helper, there are complications within the family. If I am engaged in a meeting and my wife is also occupied with her work, there is no one to look after our child or pick him up from school. That is very troublesome for us.”
Sonam added that having a reliable caregiver had significantly impacted their lives.
“With this policy and the introduction of foreign childcare givers in the country, especially for me and my wife, it has been very significant in our lives. We have a peaceful life with the caregiver’s support. Our family gets time to spend together, especially when we have to go for social gatherings like the demise of a close one.”
After the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment released a notification on the availability of foreign child caregivers a few weeks ago, about 10 families have applied for the service so far.
Sangay Dorji, the Chief Labour Officer with the Labour Department said that a research conducted by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment revealed that the country’s population currently falls below global standards. He said recognising the need to assist working parents in raising children, the ministry developed the programme as a measure to address the issue.
“When both parents are working, they don’t get the time to engage with their children. So, we thought that by implementing the foreign child caregiver project, it would encourage parents to choose to have more children and, hopefully, boost the country’s population.”
According to the Department of Labour, to be eligible for the programme, both parents must be employed, either in the public or private sector within Bhutan, and have children under the age of 12.
Officials said parents themselves have to find a caregiver and notify the Department of Labour for approval. Caregivers must be 18 years or older.
According to the ministry, the minimum wage for a caregiver should be Nu 4,500 per month. However, a survey of the pilot phase found that most of the families paid between Nu 8,000 to 13,000 for a caregiver.
Karma Samten Wangda
Edited by Tshering Zam
