The regional structure of the trade union central highlights in a press statement the significant shortage of daycare vacancies, a situation affecting about 400 children who are left without an essential educational solution for their social and cognitive development.
This issue is compounded by increasing limitations on granting flexible work schedules, a reality the Republic’s Government aims to exacerbate with its proposed labor package. This scenario constrains the family and professional lives of hundreds of workers in the region, forcing them to choose between working or leaving their children without care, the statement adds.
According to CGPT/Açores, although the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) allocated more than two million euros in the budget to address this issue, only 200,000 euros had been spent in the first half of the year.
The union structure states that the “lack of daycare response” directly impacts the working lives of parents, who find themselves with no options for childcare and are often forced to request reduced working hours.
The Regional Government’s insistence on not creating a public daycare network, a solution advocated by the National Education Council to ensure universal access to this educational solution and to combat social and educational inequalities, is emphasized in the statement.
CGTP recalls that a public network has already been proposed in the region by various organizations, including in the Regional Assembly, by the Left Bloc, but was rejected by PSD, CDS-PP, PPM, Chega, and IL, with the PS abstaining.
In its view, it is urgent to reinforce investment and ensure proper budget execution, as well as to create a public daycare network shaped around the needs of children, families, and workers.
Responding to a request from Chega in August, the Azorean government, led by social-democrat José Manuel Bolieiro, did not disclose the number of children on daycare waiting lists, noting that the transition process to the new school year was ongoing. It indicated that at the “beginning of September, it will be possible to determine the waiting list more accurately.”
The Government of the Azores praised the “very significant effort to increase the number of daycare places” in the region over the past four years.
The enforcement of Ordinance No. 190/2023/A of July 5 allowed for an increase of 444 vacancies across the Azorean Autonomous Region. Such a significant increase in daycare spots within such a short period has never been witnessed before in the Azores’ history, the response noted.
The criterion favoring children of working parents in accessing daycare will be maintained in the new school year in pilot projects in Ponta Delgada and Angra do Heroísmo, the government further stated.
