A nationwide test strategy for the youngest, uniform safety concepts for the kindergartens and more support staff, demanded ÖGB Vice President Korinna Schumann and AK President Renate Anderl on Tuesday.
Anderl emphasized that the situation of the staff in the first educational institution for children was “already tense”, and not just since the pandemic. It’s about staff shortages, pay and enormous work pressure. “The pandemic has made this situation even worse.” The physical and psychological stresses are enormously high, and politicians hardly look at this area, although the elementary education teachers are in truth system-preserving, criticized Anderl.
“Infinitely long” list of challenges
The list of challenges is “infinitely long”, reported Alexandra Csar, kindergarten director and works councilor, at the press conference from practice. She feels forgotten by the federal government. There are hardly any more opportunities for exchange with one another because the groups are no longer allowed to be mixed up. The pedagogues also find it difficult to communicate with their parents – they are trying to find other ways, “but it takes resources that we often don’t have,” explained Csar. Much relationship work is being lost, while the parents’ fears and needs are increasing right now.
Fears and worries in parents and children
The parents’ worries are passed on to the children, stressed Csar. The little ones are confronted with the fact that parents fall ill, a father last died of Covid in their kindergarten. All of this creates fears. The pedagogues would have to try to come to terms with this. Many colleagues are also afraid to celebrate Christmas with their own families because they do not want to drag the virus into any place or, vice versa, bring it to kindergarten, said Csar.
Additional effort through hygiene measures
In addition, there is the additional effort due to hygiene measures such as the regular disinfection of toys, but also due to administrative work, for example in suspected cases. Many employees in elementary education are “burned out and exhausted”. The new virus variant Omikron will exacerbate the situation again.
The elementary educators are “still the forgotten of the pandemic”, complained ÖGB Vice President Schumann. In the short term, a nationwide uniform test strategy for the little ones is needed in order to ultimately prevent closings, as well as uniform security concepts for the kindergartens and urgently more support staff. You can’t leave that to the countries that are actually responsible for kindergartens. The federal government is called upon here and must finance it, Schumann demanded. The special care time must also be extended.
“Many are burned out”
SPÖ women’s chairwoman Eva-Maria Holzleitner also appealed to the federal government in a press release: The elementary education workers were “completely forgotten” by the government during the pandemic. “Many are burned out and are no longer able to do so,” and they made an enormous contribution as the system maintainer during the crisis. “Don’t let the educators, children and parents down any longer,” demanded Holzleitner. NEOS education spokeswoman Martina Künsberg Sarre called on Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) to finally equip the elementary education area with appropriate resources. “It is now up to him to create better framework conditions here in order to bring more staff to the kindergartens.”
Lollipop tests in all kindergartens?
The ÖVP and the Greens, who govern the federal government, sent the red and pink city government to act on Tuesday at the Vienna level: “We are finally calling for the widespread use of PCR lollipop tests in all Viennese kindergartens,” said ÖVP -Municipal Councilor Silvia Janoch. What is possible in other federal states must also be possible in Vienna. City Councilor Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) “unfortunately failed to present a concept for more safety in kindergartens,” said the Vienna Green education spokesperson Julia Malle and Felix Stadler. “Applications from the Greens to introduce lollipop tests and air purification devices in all Viennese kindergartens have always been rejected by the SPÖ and NEOS.”
Source: Nachrichten
