Grandparents in Spain fighting for childcare funding
Grandparents in Spain – responsible for half the babysitting or childcare minding in the country – have been asked to support action to protest over the lack of proper national childcare funding from the Spanish Government.
A leader of Spain’s UGT general workers’ union, Manuel Pastrana, said that “we want grandparents to strike to prove they are a key part of the way this country functions”.
The union has distributed the slogans “Learn to say no” and “Don’t feel guilty” to support the campaign.
Dr Jaime Rodriguez, of the Society of Gerontology, said “it is a growing problem because grandparents are cheaper than child-minders and they are an easy option when the economy is bad. That is probably fine for most of them but some cannot cope”.
Part of the blame for the problem has been linked to the Spanish working hours where a long lunch break in the middle of the day means that many office workers don’t finish until the evening. And in Spain part-time or flexible working hours are a rarity with the result that grandparent assistance can be crucial for many families.
