Early Years Professionals secure first pay deal setting minimum wages in sector
Congress welcomes the establishment today of an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) in the early childhood care and education sector that sets minimum pay rates across a range of grades. It is the first ever such deal for the sector and was accepted by Minister English following months of negotiation between SIPTU on the workers side and Childcare Services Ireland and the Federation of Early Childhood Providers and will come into effect on Thursday, 15th September.
The ERO will lead to more than 70% of staff working in early learning and childcare getting pay increases (moving all above the living wage of €12.90) which will be supported through the Government’s €221 million Core Funding Scheme to be simultaneously introduced by Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman. This will see increases in funding to early learning and childcare services to support improvements in staff wages, alongside a commitment to freeze parental fees.
Annual Pobal sector profiles and research by a range of organisations have repeatedly illustrated how Low pay has been a scourge of the sector with services struggling to recruit and retain staff. Today’s development is a very significant step towards addressing this crisis and providing a sustainable pathway for early year’s professionals.
It will also help the journey towards affordable accessible quality early year’s care here and, as the majority of the workers impacted are women, should help to reduce the gender pay gap.
It is a great example of workers organising in a union to improve terms and conditions in a sector and also improve the experience of our children in the services.
