Dear Colleagues,
This is to invite you to a conference on Childcare that EPSU is organising. The meeting will take place in Brussels at the ITUH, boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 – 1210 Brussels, Room B , starting at 9h30. An area map is enclosed for information.
Good quality childcare and early years education are vital public services. However, they are often underfunded and, for many workers unaffordable, while childcare workers themselves, the vast majority of whom are women, are often undervalued and underpaid.
At European level there is some recognition of the importance of childcare in increasing women’s employment and as a contribution to encourage gender equality. Childcare has also featured in the European policy coordination process – the European Semester – with several countries receiving recommendations to invest in childcare to improve and extend access and affordability.
This meeting will debate these issues with a range of speakers including researchers, trade union representatives, employers, civil society and the European Commission. Please find a Draft Agenda (EN only) in attachment.
Interpretation will be available in English, French and German.
We expect participating unions to cover all travel and subsistence costs of their representatives. Nevertheless, we have limited funding to financially assist participants from countries under 100% on the ‘5 band’ index. Should you fall into this category and need financial assistance, please get in touch with the Secretariat.
Please fill in and return the attached participation form by email to [email protected] by Friday 13 May at the latest. Should you require accommodation, a list of hotels offering preferential tariffs to the EPSU/ETUC is available below.
List of Hotels Brussels - 2016
