If all the early years workers who are unsatisfied with the amount they earn joined a union and went on strike, it would be more disruptive than any strike I have heard of. It would show the Government that women are no longer going to stand by quietly moaning while being paid so much less than men. The only way out of the current low wage situation in childcare is direct Government funding. Taxes need to be raised and the Government needs to invest in the early years to the extent where we no longer resent our low salaries. This would also reflect the importance of our work to the economy and the fact that childcarers can study for two or three years just to get a job.
If all the early years workers who are unsatisfied with the amount they earn joined a union and went on strike, it would be more disruptive than any strike I have heard of. It would show the Government that women are no longer going to stand by quietly moaning while being paid so much less than men.
The only way out of the current low wage situation in childcare is direct Government funding. Taxes need to be raised and the Government needs to invest in the early years to the extent where we no longer resent our low salaries. This would also reflect the importance of our work to the economy and the fact that childcarers can study for two or three years just to get a job.
But how can the Government be made to realise this uncomfortable fact, if we don't force them to? A one-day national strike would achieve this. The country would grind to a halt without any childcare. The media coverage would be worldwide and highly embarrassing, while the issue would have been brought to the consciousness of everyone in society, who would surely sympathise with our plight.
Stephen Taw. London
