Supervision, arduousness, salary… early childhood professionals on strike Tuesday in South Aveyron

On the eve of International Children's Rights Day, the early childhood sector in South Aveyron is on strike. At the call of the collective “No babies in the locker” which brings together around fifty trade union organizations and associations, several structures preferred to close their doors to denounce the “continued deterioration of reception conditions for toddlers.

“With this strike, we also wanted to make parents aware of the problems we encounter on a daily basis,” summarizes Montserrat Zoyo-Albalala, director of the multi-parental reception of the Gorges du Tarn, Copains Cuddles, of which one in two employees is on strike this Tuesday.

Feeling of “downgrading”

“The observation is clear, the shortage of staff no longer makes it possible to respect the supervision rates, nor to have the capacity to meet the needs of families. The care of children as it should be is no longer possible”, recalls the CGT. The union pleading in favor of a supervision rate of “one professional for five children” in 2027 and the immediate repeal of the decree of July 29, 2022 which allows the use of staff “without any qualifications or experience”.

“An aberration” according to the director of Copains Câlins, likely to further reinforce the feeling of “downgrade” staff. So for her, only a salary increase and the acceleration of training would be likely to remedy this lack of attractiveness. And there is urgency. According to government estimates, half of France's nurseries lack professionals. This is also the case for the 22-place multi-reception facility in Aguessac, with the consequence of extending the waiting list. Twelve families are already registered on this list for the year 2025.

'”That's not the way we operate”

Focused on the creation of new places and a better occupancy rate, the family policy carried out since 2003 once again shows its limits which the private sector is not able to fill, believes Montserrat Zoyo-Albalala.

“Everything is done to encourage us to work in excess capacity, to the detriment of the quality of reception and the well-being of staff… but that is not the way we operate”she concludes, hoping today to be able to count on the public authorities to harmonize the funds dedicated to the ambitions of the sector which is running out of steam.

The report of the National Assembly launched in the fall of 2023 on “ prospects for developments in the care of children in nurseries » estimates the number of missing professionals in the sector at 10,000. A shortage that is all the more worrying given that almost half of active childminders will retire by 2030: around 120,000 people.