KINCS visit at the Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs in Prague
Balázs Molnár, Vice President of KINCS and Andrea Szarvas, Head of International Bureau held a discussion with Ales Kroupa, Deputy Director of the Czech Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs and Vera Kucharova, family researcher. After the meeting, they have reviewed the possibilities of a Czech-Hungarian family cooperation with Miklós Boros, the Hungarian Ambassador to Prague.
Ales Kroupa explained that the Research Institute conducts research and analyzes in five fields of expertise and competence of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, such as social, employment and family policies, working conditions as well as social dialogue. The Institute is operated by government sources under the supervision of the Ministry, but also applies for central EU funds as a consortium partner to finance their research. The Czech Party's family research covers paternity leave, domestic violence, family tax benefits and family allowances.
We have presented the operation of KINCS and the cornerstones of the Hungarian family policy since 2010. We have also discussed the activities of the Roma research group set up at our Institute. We have presented the research results of KINCS in relation to childbearing attitudes, CSOK and family-friendly workplaces. In agreement with the results of the Hungarian research, Vera Kucharova noted that according to their opinion, the willingness towards having children is more influenced by the stability of the partnership than material factors.
At the meeting, the Czech side showed a particular interest in the transformation of the Hungarian crèche system. The Czech Republic has a problem with the significant expansion of the daycare places, as the attempts made towards more flexibility and the introduction of new forms of operation have not been successful.
