Progress on early years’ wages will be wiped out in January
- Minimum wage for an early years’ educator is €13.65
- Minimum wage increases to €13.50 in January will see early years’ effectively become a minimum wage sector again
Labour General Election candidate Eilish Balfe has called out this Government for failing to pay early years’ educators fairly.
Speaking at the Labour Party childcare proposals launch today, Eilish Balfe said:
“Government has ignored the pleas from early years’ educators for years. Research carried out by SIPTU show that the sector continues to struggle with retaining staff, with an average turnover of 25% per year.
“The sector would collapse without its workforce of educators with degrees and many years of experience.
“Yet, professionals are fleeing the sector because of the lack of support and fairness these workers receive. They are undervalued and underpaid.
“Right now, the minimum wage of an early years’ educator is €13.65. On January 1st the national minimum wage will increase to €13.50, which will effectively see the sector become a minimum wage sector.
“Pay must be addressed for early years’ educators but so too must conditions. 98% of the workers in the sector are female. So, if an educator has a child of her own, she will not receive additional maternity pay, and when she is returning to the workplace, she will meet the same challenges of every other parent in the country – finding a suitable and affordable place for child care.
“As someone who has worked in the sector for the last 16 years, it is clear that we need to transition the sector into a public system, moving away from what this Government has given us.
“We cannot continue to divert public funds into the private sector. It’s a for-profit model that’s just not working. We need political will to move to a public model. The Labour Party has that political will because it’s had that vision since 2021.
“This is more about an election soundbite, this is about delivering something invaluable for children and families. It’s about providing the foundation for lifelong learning and development and investing in a brighter stronger future for our children and our grandchildren.”