The staff turnover within the childcare sector in Tipperary shows no signs of improving.
That’s according to Pat McCabe SIPTU Sector Organiser for the Big Start Campaign in Tipperary who says their most recent survey of more than 1,977 staff in the sector indicates many services may be face potential closure due to an inability to recruit and retain staff.
The turnover rate in Tipperary sits at 21% with Mr. McCabe stating that pay is the single largest reason so many are leaving to sector, as educators report struggling to make ends meet.
He says the Employment Regulation Order introduced in September brought the pay for educators to €13 per hour, however this is still not enough.
Speaking to Tipp FM he said this will have a knock on impact on the children in Tipperary.
“We will of occurs be pushing for extra pay for early years educators but we do of course know that the department have to continue to invest in the early years sector and invest in further funding so that services can be able to pay the rates of pay that will retain staff, without that we will keep on experiencing high turnover which will lead to poorer outcomes for children because if you have high turnover of staff it is not possible to be able to keep a good sustainable high quality early years education system in place.”
Parents in Tipperary then may find it increasingly difficult to find childcare if there isn’t further investment in the sector.
The recent survey shows that 39% of Early Years Educators are actively looking for work outside of their profession with low pay cited as the main reason.
He told Tipp FM the Government must commit to sustained support for the sector as many cannot make ends meet.
“We found that low pay was the biggest single issue in work and about 80% of the respondents said that low pay was the big issue and they also said and being quite frank about it, it was 55% of people said that they were unable to make ends meet with their current income and even 34 % only with great difficulty could they make ends meet. And it is understandable that people who would be on rates of €13 per hour would be finding it very difficult to sustain their lifestyle.”
