Mayo’s Big Start Early Years Committee launch the ‘Parent Pledge’ in Castlebar
Last week, (Wednesday, 14th March) the newly formed Mayo Big Start Early Years Committee (BSEYC) launched the “Parent Pledge” campaign at the SIPTU offices in Castlebar, County Mayo.
The pledge is the next big action in the Big Start campaign. The committee, the first county committee formed in the Big Start campaign, is made up of childcare providers, managers and Early Years Educators from both private and community services in the county. The pledge lays bare the facts for all to see and a platform for parents to show their support for the campaign.
Chairperson of the Mayo Big Start Early Years Committee, Avril Green said: “We are very proud to be the first Big Start Early Years Committee set up in the country. For the first time Early Years Educators in Mayo will have a voice through this committee, to highlight the concerns of workers in the sector and to campaign to win recognition and respect.”
“The pledge is very simple. By signing it, parents, providers and workers are showing their political strength by demanding support for politicians who are committed to funding and increasing investment in the early years sector. This action builds on the momentum to push the sector to a Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) for the early years sector. It is only through adequate investment that childcare can be affordable for parents while making it viable and sustainable for providers and educators trying to earn a living in the sector.”
“The politicians we have met already know this and support our campaign. It is time that those politicians who are still on the fence to get off it and deliver an early years’ sector that is fully funded and provides a better standard of living for its dedicated, professional workforce. We recognise that all providers and professionals need to take ownership of the sector they have invested in, and work in, and now drive it forward.”
She added: “It is up to Early Years Educators to force recognition and respect for our valuable contribution to society and no longer let Government off the hook. The creation of stable working terms and conditions, through a SEO, which reflects the vital work of Early Years Educators is our target. We can achieve that by winning as many signatures to the Parent Pledge as possible and by being organised.”
Big Start Early Years Committee Secretary for Mayo, Rita Miller, said: “We cannot achieve recognition for the sector if we, the workers, don’t take a stand. A SEO will put in place proper nationally agreed pay scales for the sector but it takes a significant number in a workplace to join SIPTU in order to obtain one. In addition, strong political action is vital to increase investment in our sector. Crucially, any Labour Court recommendation will not be applied unless it is in accordance with appropriate government funding to deliver pay scales that have no negative financial impact on childcare providers.”
“That’s why winning the battle for additional funding for the early years sector is so vital and why Early Years Educators must be organised.”
