
Issue No 110		07 September 2001

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News

Chronic Stress in Child Care

Savage cuts in child care funding have resulted in chronic overwork and stress amongst child care workers, according to a new survey conducted by the Municipal Employees Union.

MEU General Secretary Brian Harris has warned that the deteriorating situation could lead to industrial action by child care workers. "They are desperate to draw the public's attention to an increasingly unmanageable situation."

The survey findings were officially released this week by MEU General Secretary Brian Harris at the Earlwood Childrens Centre.

"Between 1996 and 2000 the Howard Government stripped $850 million from the child care budget. Those lost funds have directly resulted in child care centre closures, overworked staff and under-resourced centres", Mr. Harris said.

The survey of workers employed in local government child care centres found that over 86% of workers said they had too much work to handle in standard working hours, and nearly 60% regularly worked unpaid overtime. "Caring for children under five is demanding and we all know their needs are immediate. Many tasks just have to be picked up at the end of the normal working day", Mr Harris said.

The survey also found that child care workers suffered from depression and anxiety as a result of their increased workload. 59% of workers believe that reduced funding restricted the ability to offer a creative environment for children and 68% believe that decreased funding regularly impacted negatively on the ability to operate a service. "This is a disgraceful legacy of the Howard Government's commitment to child care and families in general", Mr. Harris said.

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  Issue 110 contents

Interview: Cast Adrift
Ethnic Communities Council chair Salvatore Scevola gives his take on the Tampa saga and the underlying attitudes driving the debate.

Workplace: Coming to Australia
Jagath Banderra recounts his own experience as a new arrival in Australia entering the workforce.

Human Rights: Long Road to Nowhere
Iraqi refugees travel the same tortuous road as Afghans. The refugees on the Tampa have almost certainly endured a similar ordeal.

Immigration: Experience Required
Veronica Apap looks at the many difficulties migrants face in having their skills recognised in Australia.

International: Why Economic Rationalism Isn't
The CFMEUs Phil Davey surveys the wreckage after 10 years of Brazil's Government doing what the free marketeers want.

History: Johnny's Naruan Wet Dream
Rowan Cahill looks at how Australia's preferred refugee dumping ground's history is indelibly linked with our own.

Unions: Getting the Message Out
Caroline Alcorso argues the integration of immigrant workers into the trade union movement has been a central issue in Australia’s post-war labor history.

Work/Time/Life: Driven To The Edge
In the ACTU’S groundbreaking Fifty Families report there is one particularly sobering story. Frank tells how the modern workplace is driving some people to the fatal edge.

Review: Whose Party?
NSW Labor’s century of successes began in 1910, as did the “middle classing” of Labor policy.

Satire: Ethnic Wog Gangs Rape Everyone
People who are white in colour are being raped by people who are not white, an exclusive Chaser investigation found last week.

» Unions Rescue Afghan Worker

» Revealed: Migrants Face Hidden Unions Barriers

» FOI Seeks Royal Commission Papers

» Long Hours Corrode Family Life Says Study

» Medibank Workers 'Feel Bitter Now'

» Chronic Stress in Child Care

» It's a Steal! Workers Underpaid Since 1991

» WorkCover: Bell Rings for Round Two

» Transfield Fire Sale Threatens Entitlements

» Foot-And-Mouth Heroes Face The Boot

» Superannuation Warning to Labor

» Bully Casino Locks Out Workers

» Bra Wars: US Giant Quit Burma

» Sydney's Salsa for Saharawis

» Labor Council Revamps Online

» Get Ready to Wobble

» Activists' Notebook