After-school child care workers at elementary schools staged a one-day strike on Friday, demanding their work status be elevated to full-time and to protest a bill that aims to transfer management of the after-school program from schools to local governments.

A union representing non-regular school workers held a press conference outside the headquarters of the ruling Democratic Party(DP), voicing concerns that local governments could commission private companies to run the program.

The child care workers said if the government continues to expand the program without sufficient planning, it will become a breeding ground for corruption despite a massive injection of state funds, adding that it must remain under state management. 

The union also urged the National Assembly to set up a budget to expand the program and elevate their status from part-time to full-time workers, claiming they have worked overtime without additional pay since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A coalition of nonregular school workers expected about half of some 12-thousand after-school service workers to participate in the strike. 

The union plans to stage another strike if there is no progress in talks between education authorities, teachers' groups and parents' associations in two weeks' time.