Childminding Ireland Staff Begin Indefinite Strike Action

Staff at Childminding Ireland have started indefinite strike action over a "bizarre and bogus" redundancy threat, the union Impact has said.

The union said the strike would "continue until management withdraws compulsory redundancy notices served to five staff members, and enters meaningful talks over proposed restructuring plans."

Impact said the redundancies are unnecessary in the organisation, which is not experiencing financial difficulties and has produced no business case to justify job losses. The union said that it believes Childminding Ireland is illegally threatening redundancies to force administrative and specialist staff out of their jobs before replacing them with others.

The union also accused the State-funded body of refusing to engage seriously in a conciliation organised by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), prompting five of the six staff at the organisation to back industrial action.

Childminding Ireland provides representation and advice to childcare providers.

IMPACT official Stella Griffin said: "This is a bizarre and bogus redundancy threat in which a State-funded employer simply wants to get rid of its staff and replace them with others.

"Childminding Ireland has had plenty of opportunities to explain why it thinks restructuring and redundancies are necessary, and it has consistently failed to do so. It is clear that no business case has been put forward because no business case exists.

"I have also seen internal correspondence, between board members, which demonstrates beyond doubt that Childminding Ireland has no intention of engaging meaningfully with its workers or their representatives. One board member has described these loyal and hardworking staff as 'bold teenagers'."

IMPACT says it remains available to resolve the issue through negotiations in the Workplace Relations Commission.

(MH/JP)