34% of Childcare Teachers in Gyeonggi-do Daycare Centers Suffer from 'Job Insecurity'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Half of the childcare teachers at daycare centers in Gyeonggi-do are contract workers, and 34% of them are exposed to job insecurity due to unclear contract renewals, according to a recent survey.

The Gyeonggi-do Women and Family Foundation announced the results of the "Survey on Improving the Labor Environment of Childcare Staff in the Province" on the 21st, which included these findings.

This survey was conducted in accordance with the "Ordinance for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Childcare Staff in Gyeonggi-do," enacted in August last year, and it is the first comprehensive investigation into the labor environment of childcare staff in the province.

The foundation conducted an online survey from May 10 to 22 targeting 1,097 childcare staff members (head teachers, extended childcare teachers, assistant teachers) in the province. The total number of childcare staff in the province is about 92,000, accounting for 28% of the nationwide total of 321,000.

The survey results showed that 581 respondents, or 53%, had fixed-term employment contracts.

Among the 581 contract workers, 94% (547 people) had contract periods of less than two years, with 36 under one year, 476 between one year and less than one and a half years, and 35 between one and a half years and less than two years.

Of these contract workers, 66% (385 people) responded that "re-employment is possible if the teacher wishes." The remaining 34% (196 people) expressed uncertainty about re-employment.

The average daily break time for childcare staff was recorded as 34.9 minutes. The most common break location was "inside the childcare room," accounting for 50.9%.

Among 747 childcare staff with more than one year of service, many suffered from physical ailments such as back pain (397 people), upper limb muscle pain (481 people), lower limb muscle pain (404 people), and headaches or eye fatigue (437 people). Additionally, many staff experienced mental health issues related to work, including anxiety (209 people), sadness or despair (76 people), and thoughts of wanting to die (27 people).

Many staff also experienced unfair treatment, mainly surveillance through closed-circuit television (CCTV) (195 people), unfair orders (121 people), defamation (71 people), and verbal abuse (69 people). Among the 268 who experienced unfair treatment, 63% (168 people) said they "endured or pretended not to know" about the unfair treatment.

Based on these survey results, the foundation proposed policies related to the "4th Gyeonggi-do Mid- to Long-term Childcare Development Plan (2023?2027)" to promote "child-centered childcare that respects the human rights of childcare staff."

The main proposals include ▲ establishing legal grounds at the central government level for protecting the rights of childcare staff ▲ promoting the "teacher-to-child ratio improvement project" included in national agendas and Gyeonggi-do’s 8th-term election pledges ▲ revising the "Childcare Guidance Project Guidelines" to improve the labor environment ▲ strengthening the functions of dedicated organizations for handling childcare staff grievances.

Kim Mi-jung, a research fellow at the Gyeonggi-do Women and Family Foundation, emphasized, "Protecting the labor rights and respecting the human rights of childcare staff creates the best childcare environment for young children," adding, "It is necessary to carefully listen to and reflect the voices of on-site childcare teachers, who have been relatively neglected in policy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.