Under new terms and conditions to come into effect from 1 September, more than 100 nursery nurses in schools qualified to NVQ level 3 and above have had their jobs re-evaluated by the council and given a new job description of Early Years Assistant (News, 28 May).
There is no grading structure within this to recognise qualifications above level 3, nor years of experience.
The council has undertaken a consultation, but there appears to be some uncertainty about whether the correct consultation procedures with management, unions and nursery nurses have been followed.
Unison questions consultation
Unison, the union which represents the majority of the nursery nurses, is questioning the consultation's validity.
Council documents show that a meeting took place in January with Unison, GMB and Voice to inform them that a consultation process was to take place.
A council spokesperson assured Nursery World that the consultation was carried out 'in accordance with the correct procedures'.
But Roger Spackman, branch secretary of Devon County Unison, said, 'We are questioning whether the proper consultation procedure has been gone through. Unions are still actively negotiating. As far as we're concerned the council has not started a proper consultation. We're still fighting.'
Some nursery nurses have said they believe the consultation was rushed through and did not follow correct procedure, and that some of them were not given invitations to attend consultation meetings and did not receive a copy of the consultation document until after the closing date on 30 April.
Nursery nurse Kim Cleave from Pynes Infant School and Nursery in Bideford told Nursery World, 'I contacted one nursery nurse who first read about the council's plans in the newspaper and then received the final document through her letterbox. Several of us did not receive the consultation document until after the official closing date. They then gave us two days to respond to it.'
She added, 'Why is the council prepared to pinch pennies from a hardworking dedicated team of women? The nature of our work makes us a minority workforce, working in isolation, and it makes us easy targets. I am confident that if another profession was under attack there would be uproar. DCC may have under-estimated our passion for our chosen careers.'
Nursery nurses dismayed
Many of the Devon nursery nurses have contacted Nursery World to express their dismay that their years of experience and qualifications, including degrees, will not be recognised and that the title of Early Years Assistant does not recognise their professional status.
One, who wanted to stay anonymous, said, 'Until recently we felt our NNEB qualifications, experience and expertise were reflected in our pay and we felt our skills were valued by our employer. How wrong we were! By proposing these changes DCC have made our NNEB certificate not worth the paper it is written on.'
She added, 'I used to love going to work every day. I now drag myself out of bed every morning after yet another terrible night's sleep worrying about how I am going to pay my mortgage, which is based on my full-time current salary. We will be losing 30 per cent of our salary, a substantial amount in the current economic climate. No family could cope with such a large and permanent deduction, let alone one with two children.'
A meeting will be held this week with Unison's regional organiser and the nursery nurses.
- Nursery World readers from around the country have sent messages of support to the Devon nursery nurses on our online forum. Join the debate at www.nurseryworld.co.uk.
NURSERY NURSES VOICE THEIR ANGER
'I am a very experienced nursery nurse and started to work for the council in 1987. I feel totally devalued as a professional with these changes. Nursery nurses in Devon are going to be obsolete. A 33 per cent pay cut is an enormous amount for individuals to cope with. Our pay is already notoriously poor.'
Julie Solomon NNEB, HLTA, OU (Early Years) BA(Hons) Early Childhood Studies
'My pay will drop from £15,100 to £11,600. Now we shall be expected to do more for less pay and lose our professional title. We are not 'assistants', we are a very knowledgeable and dedicated workforce who should be recognised and supported. I feel so despondent, not only for the future of nursery nurses, but for the future 'quality care' that the early years settings are crying out for and the Government has pushed for: Sure Start Children's Centres.'
Catherine Hastie NNEB
'I am on a low income already and have now been told my job title and wage are going to be changed. My wages are £7,785 per year and will be reduced to £5,804.40. It is a great worry and concern for me. Are my years of training and knowledge of childcare really this worthless?'
Nicola Quinlan
'I am a nursery nurse (and proud to be called such) employed in North Devon and have been devastated by the actions of the council. I qualified as an NNEB in 1986. I hold a responsible job in a primary school and have over the last six years, at my own expense, developed myself professionally via a Foundation Degree at the Open University and I am about to graduate with a degree in Early Childhood Studies from Plymouth University. It seems now, to what end?'
Julie Cox NNEB, F.Deg. BA (Hons) ECS
'The strapline in the EYFS is 'Every child matters' - clearly this should be subtitled 'subject to cost'. It is clear that DCC feel nursery nurses do not matter. This has brought nursery nurses together in Devon and we firmly believe that we do matter and we will fight these proposals.'
Nursery nurse, name supplied
