The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
AS some childcare providers in the county re-opened their doors this week, workers in the sector reveal the financial challenges they are facing as they call for funding reforms. SIPTU Organiser and Big Start Co-ordinator for Clare, Yvonne McGrath insists, “This vital service cannot be delivered on poverty pay”. The campaign is urging the incoming government to deliver on pre-election pledges to reform the early years sector and implement a new funding model that delivers for children, workers, providers and parents. Ms McGrath says, “Early years educators are eager and enthusiastic to return to work. They play an essential role in our society and parents who have struggled balancing work and looking after children have some much welcomed relief. However, the issues that existed before the lockdown have not gone away. The reality is that before the Covid-19 outbreak the sector was in the grip of a low pay and staffing crisis with the majority of workers earning below the …
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