childcare assistants/leaders

bmarley

Are there any other childcare workers out there who feel under valued and underpaid. Having worked in this area for many years, I feel that serious changes need to be made. Childcare staff who work in community based projects spend much of the year claiming benefit, during holiday periods as we only get paid for 8% of time worked and we operate around school term times. I am on the same rate of pay as when I started in my current position almost 10 years ago. However, we are expected to attend Siolta and other training...in our own time. Why are the county childcare committees not doing something in relation to alligning payments and setting up incremental scales. By the way, I am qualified to post grad level.

maglite

Supply and demand.

Why should you get more, are you not doing the same job? You need to come up with a reason better than I was it for a pay rise.

If you get a pay rise for ( say education) will you customers pay the extra. Or would the cost be such that people stay at home not being able to afford child care

bmarley

Not sure what you mean by supply and demand. I am talking about all those extra hours staff are now required to due due to new curriculum which are unpaid. Teachers have always been allowed these hours as part of working hours - schools often closed to facilitate these meetings and lunch and mileage allowances were provided. In private sectors, there are annual increments and bonuses etc. I'm not saying that parents should have to pay more for childcare..but I am saying that pay scales should be regulated and a general pay scale should be in operation.