Leisure Educators Threatened: The Fight to Protect Working Conditions and Childcare Services

In the course of the school law amendment, the government is planning to end leisure time education. Recreational educators who organize the leisure time part of school day care should become “assistant educators”. That would mean salary cuts of up to one-fifth, a deterioration in education, an unclear labor law situation and nonsensical new entry hurdles through high school as a prerequisite. The GPA warns “Massive deterioration in working conditions and the training of employees as well as the care situation for tens of thousands of schoolchildren”.

There is widespread resistance to this attack. A works meeting of “Focus on Education” has already taken place in Vienna, in which an unbelievable 1,100 employees took part, who made far-reaching decisions on industrial action. Protests are also planned in Carinthia and Styria.

“We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in leisure time education and call on the federal government to refrain from this attack. A worsening of the working conditions, wages and training of the employees as well as the childcare situation is out of the question and irresponsible. The planned Austria-wide protests on June 15 are an important sign of protest and resistance, which we of course support.”, so KPÖ-LAbg. Werner Murgg.