The ChildCare Sector has been reopened since June 29th 2020. We are the unrecognised professionals, working directly with family members of health care workers and other Essential services. If we are required to stay open and put ourselves directly in the frontline as Key workers,  the Essential workers for the Essential workers/services then, we deserve to be put higher up the list to receive the covid 19 vaccine. The majority of child care professionals and Early years Educators are on minimum wage and don't recieve sick pay. We are at high risk of getting Covid 19 with the lack of social distancing in our line of work. Also, asymptomatic cases are on the rise in childcare and what does that mean for our families? What happens if we get sick  and have to close, who then minds those children? It's a knock on effect, and if we are sick then the people who  rely on us cant go to work and the people that rely on us, you rely on them to keep our hospital's open and our stores open.

We are the link in the chain 

We are in the profession because we love what we do! We spend many years studying and training, yet are still waiting on the recognition in our salaries. We teach, educate, mind, play, protect, comfort and love the children in our care,  yet we aren't considered or acknowledged in the same way as other sectors. We now find ourselves fighting for our safety. We deserve to be protected & so do our families. This petition will be sent directly to The House of Oireachtas. Please sign our petition.