Polish parliament offers childcare for MPs’ children for first time

Poland’s parliament has provided childcare for MPs’ children for the first time under an initiative launched by the speaker of the lower-house Sejm, Szymon Hołownia.

The idea of organising care for the youngest children of parliamentarians came about in December after one MP attended a session with her son. Her decision sparked widespread discussion, but also some criticism.

Hołownia, who last month shared pictures of his own two-year-old daughter in his office, proposed organising childcare for lawmakers because, as he said, he would not want “anyone to question the fact that an MP can come to the Sejm with her child when the chamber is in session”.

The day after the idea was announced, letters were sent to all political caucuses to gauge the need for childcare. Four MPs came forward, including three parents of children aged two to five and one parent of a child with disabilities, reports the Rzeczpospolita daily.

Some MPs declared a need for childcare only on non-school days. In total, Poland’s parliament has 460 MPs in the Sejm and 100 members of the upper-house Senate.

Yesterday, when the Sejm met for the first time this year, a children’s club was offered for the first time. The facility, at which care is provided by professional staff, is located in the parliamentary hotel, which is located next to the Sejm and is used by MPs.

The spokeswoman for Hołownia’s office, Katarzyna Karpa-Swiderek, told Rzeczpospolita that childcare is for now only being provided temporarily during two parliamentary sittings that fall immediately after one another after being rescheduled.

However, the newspaper reports that it is likely to mark the start of regular arrangements in future to provide childcare because a growing number of MPs are expressing interest in the idea.

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Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.