Childcare workers and providers have been backed into a corner by the Government’s ‘take it or leave it’ approach to new contracts for the provision of childcare under the early childhood care and education (ECCE) scheme, according to IMPACT organiser Una Faulkner.

Last week she told well-attended IMPACT information meetings - in Sligo, Athlone, Dublin and Cork - that providers had not been consulted on the contracts, which had been offered on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis. The IMPACT information meetings gave advice to childcare providers about the new contracts.

Una warned that the new terms, which were only issued by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs after IMPACT’s intervention, were significantly different to the 2015 arrangements.

“Providers have to accept the contracts to stay in business because otherwise parents will simply go elsewhere to get their entitlement to free childcare. But neither providers nor their staff have had any input,” she said.

The meetings, which are part of IMPACT’s drive to organise and uplift professionals in the early childhood sector, also addressed the challenge faced by thousands of professionals who are laid off for the summer months because the state only funds the ECCE scheme for ten months of the year.

“Service providers and staff in this sector face a huge challenge every year in their efforts to deliver a quality service. The duration of the contract means that staff are forced to find other work or claim social welfare during the summer months,” said Una.

This meant providers also saw their capacity compromised during the summer period. “This is simply unsustainable, and ignores the fact that parents and children need childcare during the summer months too,” she said.

IMPACT has been working jointly with the Association of Childcare Professionals to professionalise a sector where thousands of workers earn just above the minimum wage, despite being required to have a minimum QQI level six qualification.