Under the motto “We won’t give up – #we tear it up!” around 700 employees from Upper Austrian kindergartens took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the “unreasonable” working conditions in this area. For months, she and the unions GPA and younion have been ignored by state politics. “Where is the date for the round table that Christine Haberlander promised us more than two months ago?” GPA Upper Austria Managing Director Wolfgang Gerstmayer was upset – specifically about the Deputy Governor of the ÖVP, who is responsible for kindergartens.
In Vienna, the staff of private Viennese kindergartens and after-school care centers once again took to the streets for better working conditions, and the school’s recreational educators were also there this time. The facilities therefore remained closed until 3:30 p.m.
Great resentment also in Vienna
The resentment of the kindergarten staff about the general conditions has been great for a long time. There were already works meetings in public spaces last autumn, after 5,000 at that time, according to the trade unions, around 8,000 Viennese private kindergarten employees followed the call to the demo. The employees of the public kindergartens also mobilized last week for more money and staff, more than a thousand demonstrated in several state capitals. In Klagenfurt, the GPA had again invited to a rally today.
Under the motto “Enough!” there was a demo train in Vienna from Votivpark to Heldenplatz. The demands: more resources, more staff, smaller groups, better childcare relationships and fair pay. The criticism of the demonstrators, who gathered from 10 a.m.: The working conditions were getting worse and worse, the pressure was increasing, there was a lack of staff. The pandemic has made the situation even worse. The frustration about the current framework conditions was noticeably high among some participants: “Less tots – more dough”, “We are social, but not stupid” or “We need more than empty promises!” could be read on signs. Too little appreciation was also a frequent topic (“I’m not a handicraft aunt, I’m an education officer!”)
In Vienna, around two thirds of the children are cared for in private kindergartens and after-school care centers. The largest sponsors are the Wiener Kinderfreunde (according to the GPA trade union around 2,100 employees, around 11,400 children looked after), “Children in Vienna” (KIWI; 1,600/7,200), the St. Nikolaus Foundation (1,200/6,300) and the Diakonie Bildung (200/ 1,500). In addition, there are 1,700 educators from school recreational education.
“Systematically underfunded”
Politicians have repeatedly promised more funds for kindergartens, according to GPA chairwoman Barbara Teiber. However, the working conditions have not improved. “Elementary education has been systematically underfinanced for years and those responsible for politics are shifting responsibility to each other. If something doesn’t change quickly, today’s protests will certainly not be the last!” she announced.
In the case of kindergartens, the federal states are responsible for legislation and implementation, so the requirements for group size and minimum care ratios vary from state to state. However, the federal government (training, 15a agreement), municipalities and providers are also responsible for individual areas. The demonstrators therefore want a uniform federal framework law – and (as announced by the government) also more money from the federal-state agreement for kindergartens, which is currently being negotiated.
“End the patchwork rug”
In general, their demands are not only aimed at the city of Vienna, emphasized Kira Höfenstock from vida-Vienna. The federal government is called upon to “finally put an end to this patchwork rug.” Chamber of Labor President Renate Anderl also wants to continue to put pressure on a nationwide framework law and better framework conditions, she emphasized in her speech. In the Ministry of Education, however, this demand was recently rejected: “Discussions on competence won’t get us any further here,” it said on the occasion of the demos on Monday of the previous week.
With a view to the more difficult framework conditions in the pandemic, Anderl said: “A lot was missed in the schools, but in the elementary educational institutions you have completely forgotten to look. It’s really enough!” Support for the concerns of the kindergarten staff also came from SPÖ education spokeswoman Petra Vorderwinkler.
Source: Nachrichten
