Nursery nurses strike

Submitted by martin on 18 June, 2003 - 6:44

Five thousand nursery nurses across Scotland started a programme of rolling strike action on May 21st. The action started with walk-outs in the West of Scotland. Action in Edinburgh and East Lothian follows on Wednesday and Thursday 28/29 May.
The nurses employed in council-run nurseries are fighting for a decent pay rise and re-grading. In addition to supporting the strikes they are also boycotting all additional duties, including observation, recording assessment and evaluation processes, planning and development tasks, student training, all work outwith normal working hours, and all clerical, janitorial and cleaning tasks.

Helen Dickson, a nurse at the East Renfrewshire-run Madras Nursery in Neilston, has worked with pre-school children for the last 17 years. She started on a salary of £5,438 and now earns £13,896-an average rise of less than £450 per year.

"Parents entrust to me the most important people in their lives," she said. "They hope that I will help them in giving their children the best start in life and that is what we nursery nurses try and do.

"If I was a single person, I would not be able to get a mortgage, I would not be able to afford to run a car and life would be pretty grim.

"A large number of nursery nurses have another job, typically working in bars at night. Our salaries are not fair ones."

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