KUALA Lumpur: Staff salary takes up the largest part of the operational cost of childcare centres.
As such, the Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP) under the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin) came as a great help for childcare centre operators during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
The announcement of WSP 2.0 under the Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin) provided additional relief for operators thereafter.
A childcare centre operator from Jitra, Kedah, Nursolehah Abd Aziz, 35, said her earnings were badly affected due to the enforcement of the movement restriction measures.
She was grateful for the wage subsidy programme as it has enabled the centre to retain its staff and continue operations.
"With the incentive received, we managed to pay our workers. "WSP 2.0 was a timely announcement as some of the parents stopped sending their children as they were afraid of exposure," she said.
Umi Setia Kasih childcare centre operator Herdiana Mohd Hedir said WSP 2.0 could help cover monthly operation costs.
With the Conditional MCO imposed around the country, including Kuala Lumpur, she said she had no option but to shut down operations for the moment."Some parents have decided not to send their children and this affects our operations as we need about RM300,000 to run the centre.
"The WSP 2.0 has eased our burden significantly," she added.J.One childcare centre operator Jamaliah Hashim said although WSP 2.0 helped the centre stay afloat, things were still not back to normal.
She said that the previous WSP was RM1,200 and was enough for 14 staff."With WSP 2.0, we are getting RM600. We have to look for other means to make ends meet."