Low pay driving childcare workers away, finds study

The latest child care study from Siptu has concluded low pay is driving workers out of industry.

The annual Early Years Professionals’ Survey 2021/2022 found that 41 per cent of early years professionals were actively seeking a job in another sector, a factor which Siptu said was “undermining the sustainability and quality of services for children”.

The research was conducted in late 2021 by Dr Amy Greer Murphy who said 94 per cent of managers were finding it “difficult or “very difficult’ to recruit staff over the previous 12 months.

Some 84 per cent of managers identified pay as “the biggest” or “a significant” obstacle to recruiting staff with the biggest impact of recruitment difficulties being on quality for children (67 per cent) and reducing the number of children that can be cared for (57 per cent).

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Other key findings include some 90 per cent of early years workers struggle to make ends meet, while 66 per cent regularly do unpaid work. Just 10 per cent have paid maternity leave from work. Of the 26,882 staff who work directly with children, 98 per cent are female, the survey found.

Early years educator, Deborah Reynolds, said: “We are passionate about our job, but passion doesn’t pay the bills.

“Unfortunately, more and more early years educators don’t see a future for themselves in their profession. Stress and shortages are massive issues, but low pay is by far the biggest. Budget 2022 did see a big increase in government funding, but educators need to see it in their pocket,” she said.

Siptu head of strategic organising Darragh O’Connor said even before Covid-19 there was a staffing crisis. “We are now on the verge of a mass exodus unless pay and conditions are addressed.”

He said the Government knew of the difficulties and had provided significant funding in Budget 2022 to fix this problem. “The focus now must be on agreeing rates of pay that will make it financially possible for Early Years professionals to stay in the sector,” Mr O’Connor said.