Labour Court recommends higher childcare pay and new procedures at Jigsaw Day Nursery

In a 1 February 2007 recommendation, the Labour Court set higher hourly rates for childcare workers and supervisors at Jigsaw Day Nursery Ltd and recommended new grievance and disciplinary procedures that provide for employee representation. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union had sought increased pay, union representation in workplace procedures and reimbursement of medical certificate costs. Jigsaw Day Nursery Ltd argued its existing pay and procedures were appropriate and it could not sustain the certification costs. The recommended rates, effective from 1 January 2007, range from €8.65 to €9.21 an hour for childcare workers and from €9.65 to €10.36 for supervisors. The Court did not recommend conceding the union’s claim for medical certificate costs.