Call for more childcare workers and increased investment

(November 2016) The IMPACT public services union joined with the Association of Childcare Professionals in a demonstration on 15 November calling for increased funding for childcare services. The union also called for improved pay and conditions for childcare workers many of whom face low pay and precarious working conditions, leading to a situation where staff turnover in the sector is over 20%. The SIPTU trade union supported a similar call earlier in the month in collaboration with children's organisations.

In the run-up to negotiating a new collective agreement covering 80000 workers in the childcare sector, the FNV trade union has published the results of a survey that reveal excessive flexibility in working hours and too many fixed-term contracts as major issues for childcare workers. The union argues that many workers have so few set hours that they can be called on at short notice to work additional hours, creating uncertainty and stress. With the increasing demand for workers in the sector the FNV argues that these issues need to be addressed if more qualified workers are to be recruited.

Services union ver.di has reacted to the latest figures on childcare provision to call for more investment in the sector and the creation of 120000 additional jobs. The union says that a recent report on early years education underlines the wide variation in staffing levels across the country and the fact that in many cases staff are responsible for too many children. Ver.di stresses the importance of linking quality of provision with quality of working conditions and that meeting the recommended staffing ratios will enable workers to devote more time to quality care and education. [Read more