Better pay and conditions for childcare workers

The VIDA and GPA-DJP trade unions have called for private childcare providers to be covered by the BAGS health and social service sectoral agreement. At the moment employees are not covered by a collective agreement and the unions argue that they have faced a significant increase in the demands made upon them but there has been no attempt to re-evaluate their jobs and negotiate an appropriate increase in pay levels. The unions also want to see a federal law to regulate conditions and minimum standards for childcare provision. [Read more at > VIDA (DE)->http://www.vida.at/servlet/ContentServer

(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.

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