Collective agreement negotiations of the private early childhood education and care sector begin
Negotiations on a dedicated collective agreement for the private early childhood education and care sector have started on 17 September 2024. The bargaining parties are JHL, OAJ, SuPer, Talentia and Finnish Education Employers.
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is the first step of the education system, and it lays the foundation for realisation of a child’s rights. Private ECEC is an important part of ECEC services. It provides diverse and high-quality services for families. Private ECEC covers about 40,000 children in Finland.
In order to promote the conditions of the private ECEC sector, JHL, OAJ, SuPer, Talentia and Finnish Education Employers (FEE) have started negotiations on a dedicated collective agreement for this sector on 17 September 2024.
– JHL is very glad about this new collective agreement. It will meet the needs of the early childhood education and care sector and take special characteristics of these occupations into account better than the present situation, says Senior Bargaining Specialist Hanna Katajamäki.
– A collective agreement for the private ECEC sector has been our objective at OAJ for a long time, and we are happy about starting the negotiations. We want to make sure that the terms and conditions of employment for teaching staff in early childhood education and care are realised in the best possible way in the new collective agreement, stresses Senior Special Advisor Kirsi Sutton who negotiates the agreement for OAJ.
– It’s important to develop the private ECEC sector by negotiating terms and conditions of employment that fit this sector better. Doing that also helps the private ECEC sector to attract and retain skilled personnel. A dedicated collective agreement is a good opportunity to accomplish that, says Jukka Parkkola, Contract Negotiator at SuPer.
– In the private ECEC sector, UAS Bachelors of Social Services are in a significant role among teachers, managers and the new group of professionals called social pedagogues in early childhood education and care. Talentia is motivated to build a new collective agreement that considers the needs for multidisciplinary competence, says the President of Talentia Union of Social Workers Jenni Karsio.
– We are very pleased that we can, together with our partners, start building a dedicated collective agreement for the private ECEC sector based on the special characteristics of this sector. That enables our members to focus even better on producing the best possible ECEC service for families, says Joona Kaunisniemi, Labour Market Expert at FEE.
More information:
JHL’s Senior Bargaining Specialist Hanna Katajamäki, 050 513 7701
There are about 10,000 employees working in the private early childhood education and care sector. About 20% of children living in Finland go to private daycare centres. This means that every year more than 40,000 children receive early childhood education and care in privately organised ECEC services. Despite that, this sector has not had its own collective agreement before. Instead, those who work in this sector have been covered for example by the collective agreement for the private social services sector.
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JHL is the best trade union for you if you work for example as a childcarer, family day carer or a teacher in early childhood education and care.
