As working parents come under increasing pressure to return to work, the crisis in childcare is coming to a head. Yesterday the TUC warned that women risk being pushed out of the workforce as a result of the shortage of adequate childcare provision, with a new survey showing two in five working mothers of young children are struggling to find the childcare they need. And today the Institute for Fiscal studies warned that childcare shortages could worsen further, with many nurseries and childminders facing the prospect of permanent closure due to the “severe consequences” the pandemic has had for their finances.
Even before COVID-19, childcare providers were often in “already weak” positions, the IFS notes. Industry representatives are calling with increasing urgency for changes to the current flawed funding model. But the key workers at the sharp end mustn’t be forgotten, either, if high turnover and difficulties for children and parents are to be reduced. Childcare workers need government action to make it harder for employers to get away with poor working conditions and paying below the minimum wage, too, an openDemocracy investigation has found.
‘An awful work environment’
The average wage for childcare workers is below minimum wage, with one in ten earning less than £5.00 an hour, according to government research released last month. One in six workers leave their jobs within the year, the same report shows.
