SIPTU members working in Early Years services have voted to accept a pay deal which provides for increases of around 10% across all grades.
In a ballot of members, more than 90% voted in favour of the proposals.
“SIPTU members have overwhelmingly supported the pay rates that emerged from negotiations between union representatives and employers on the Early Years Joint Labour Committee (JLC) negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission,” said SIPTU Sector Organiser Diane Jackson.
“The proposals provide close to a 10% pay raise across all the grades, raising the minimum agreed hourly pay rates to between €15 for Educators and €20.25 for Graduate Managers.”
“Our members now expect to see these long-awaited wage increases reflected in their pay packets in September,” Ms Jackson said.
In June, the pay proposals were put forward by the Joint Labour Committee, which is made up of employer and worker representatives.
It has the responsibility for setting minimum rates of pay for over 35,000 staff in the early years and childcare sector.
At the time of the deal, minister for children Norma Foley welcomed the pay proposals.
“I am committed to ensuring the successful implementation of these proposals by providing a ring-fenced allocation of €45 million from Core Funding,” Ms Foley said.
Childcare Services Ireland, the Ibec association representing the sector, said that a number of providers have made the decision to withdraw from the Core Funding scheme, resulting in some increasing their fees to manage the funding shortfall.
“It is important to note that any fee increases by providers are a direct result of the loss of core funding, which has made it unviable for some to remain in the scheme,” said Stephanie Roy, Director of Childcare Services Ireland.
“These increases are used to support the provision of high quality, nutritious meals, the cost of which continues to rise, as well as to enhance children’s learning experiences through improved outdoor play areas and better environmental standards,” Ms Roy said.
The Federation of Early Childhood Providers welcomed the acceptance of the pay deal but said that as of yesterday over 10% of its members had pulled out of the Core Funding model as they found it to be not financially viable.
“We propose a root and branch investigation into the Core Funding model, particularly focusing on the lifting of the fee caps,” said Elaine Dunne, Chairperson, Federation of Early Childhood Providers.
“This would support the additional rising commercial costs of doing business,” Ms Dunne said.
