In this issue
IMPACT young members' group event - The Cost of Living for Young Workers
Pay deal looks set for success
Progress on IOT fixed-term posts
Temporary health staff need support
Childcare cash and paid leave demanded
IMPACT prepares gender pay gap submission
Childcare cash and paid leave demanded
IMPACT pre-Budget submission calls for two months’ paid parental leave from 2018
by Bernard Harbor
 
The Government should allocate an extra €125 million in next year’s Budget, and at least €625 million extra over the next five years, to ensure that Ireland meets the OECD average spend on early childhood care and education by 2022, according to IMPACT. In a costed pre-Budget submission, the union also called for two months’ paid parental leave to be introduced from next year, at an extra cost of €84 million.

The union also wants fees paid by parents to be capped as a condition of public funding of early childhood providers in future.

Government spending of just 0.1% of GDP on early childhood education currently puts Ireland at the bottom of the OECD league table. As a result, “Irish parents pay some of the highest childcare costs in the world, while most of those working within early education don’t even earn a living wage,” according to the IMPACT submission.

The union wants to see the negotiation and implementation of agreed salary scales for early education staff to boost professionalisation of the sector. IMPACT organiser Lisa Connell (pictured) says international research demonstrates a clear link between salaries and the quality of early education experienced by children. But Irish workers generally experience low pay and poor working conditions.

“Average pay in the sector currently stands at €10.27 an hour, with a €1 premium for graduates. It is inevitable that some children experience poor quality early education when the services are provided by poorly qualified and poorly paid staff. Budget 2018 can start to change that by signalling the necessary move towards a graduate-led workforce with payment of an agreed salary scale as a condition of public funding,” she said.

IMPACT says simply providing higher capitation for higher qualifications isn’t the solution to low pay as there is no guarantee that higher capitation fees would be passed on in wages.

The pre-Budget submission also seeks a commitment to meet the UNICEF early childhood spending target of 1% of GNP within ten years. The union also urges improved quality in the sector and says public funding should be withdrawn from providers who fail to meet standards. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to review the early care inspection regime, but this has not yet been implemented.

Download a copy of the pre budget submission HERE.

Related (Audio) :
Audioblog: The Early Impact campaign in early education (via Soundcloud)
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