A survey of childcare staff by the JHL public services union revealed worrying levels of exhaustion among workers. More than half of the surveyed workers report that they experience exhaustion at least weekly and more than 60% every month. Some 70% of the more than 2,200 respondents had been in the sector for more than 10 years. The union says the results are alarming and underline the urgent need for more staff to prevent a full-blown crisis. JHL also says that problems have been caused by a lack of support staff and inadequate cover when childcare staff are involved in planning. Furthermore, staff-to-child ratios that apply to whole kindergartens may not be appropriate at individual group level where children with additional demands put extra pressure on staff.
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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.