Due to the COVID-19 situation in the country, the cost of hiring foreign domestic helpers has increased exponentially. As a result, there’s a pressing need to stretch the capacity at child care centres to accommodate the rising number of households with both parents working full-time.
Perhaps the authorities could consider setting up a semi-government company that offers domestic services to these households by employing local jobseekers. They could also enlist local educational institutions to provide hospitality training, to ensure the delivery of a quality service.
These local domestic helpers would begin work at 6.45am, just before parents head to work, and finish at 5pm, when most will be home. If an employee quit within a few days, it would be easier to find a replacement as there are less hurdles in hiring locals.
In the long run, I believe such a venture would benefit the country by tackling the unemployment issue, reducing stress among parents amid high daily case numbers, ensuring a highly skilled local workforce, generating income for the public sector, and engaging local educational institutions in addressing social and economic issues.
Observer612
