Crisis in Mayo childcare sector to be highlighted at national protest
Providers and Early Years teachers in Mayo will be among thousands closing their doors nationwide on Wednesday next.
The Early Years Alliance is holding a national protest march in Dublin involving thousands of educators, providers and parents all around the country to demand a sustainable solution to the worsening childcare crisis.
The Early Years Alliance, which includes SIPTU, the Union for Early Years, brings together organisations representing Early Years staff, providers and parents.
SIPTU Head of Strategic Organising, Darragh O’Connor said: “Early years educators across the country are committed to delivering high quality, child focused education and care.
"However, the current government funding model for the sector is making it impossible to achieve this.
"Despite qualifications and hard work, Early Years educators earn just €11.45 on average, well below the living wage."
Early Years manager Elaine Malone: “We struggled for a long time before making the decision to close and attend the protest.
"We were worried about the disruptive effect on parents by choosing to close our doors on February 5, however, we have been blown away by the level of support and solidarity that we have received from the parents and the local community.
"Parents understand that quality childcare is a vital public service delivered by qualified Early Years Teachers and that it should be properly funded by the State.”
A meeting of SIPTU members on the childcare crisis was held lsst Wednesday in SIPTU Offices, Castlebar.
Local election candidates were invited to attend. There were none in attendance on the night, however, there were some apologies, albeit many were late in receipt.
There was disappointment at the meeting that candidates had not engaged with the low-paid workforce of the sector.
SIPTU Organiser and Mayo Big Start Co-ordinator Ann O’Reilly stated: “SIPTU members over 5,000 strong, together with our colleagues in the Early Years Alliance, will not miss this opportunity, the week of a General Election, to ensure our demands are included in any upcoming programme for government.
"Ireland spends only 0.2% of GDP on Early Childhood Education, well below the European average of 0.8%”
At the protest on Wednesday, the Early Years Alliance will be highlighting its Election 2020 demands for the sector.
These include the development of a funding model that supports affordable and accessible childcare for parents, high quality for children and sustainability for providers.
The Early Years Alliance is also seeking adequate funding for the introduction of the Living Wage for all workers in the sector in 2020, as a first step towards a professional pay scale and the establishment of a single inspection process with a graded compliance system.
The Early Years Alliance was formed in December 2019. It includes SIPTU, the Association of Childhood Professionals, the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, the National Community Childcare Forum, Seas Suas and the National Childhood Network.