Kindergarten fees top a worker’s monthly pay rise, union leader says

Three kindergarten registration days for one child cost more than a working parent’s monthly pay rise after tax, Halla Gunnarsdóttir, chair of VR and first vice-president of ASÍ, says, according to mbl.is.

Gunnarsdóttir criticised fees for the days in a Facebook post as winter holidays began in Reykjavík and several other municipalities. Parents were initially asked to report whether their children would attend so kindergartens could plan staffing. That system later became mandatory registration, and fees were eventually introduced, she said.

In Reykjavík, parents now pay 5,000 krónur for each registration day and must decide well in advance whether to use the service. In September, they had to say whether their children would attend during both the winter break and the period between Christmas and New Year.

Gunnarsdóttir questioned whether the system had improved staffing certainty, its original purpose. She said requiring families to make plans months ahead was poorly suited to parents who could not know what their circumstances would be when the days arrived.

She compared the 15,000-króna cost of three registration days for one child with a monthly negotiated pay rise of 23,750 krónur, or 3.5 per cent. In her calculation, the increase amounts to about 14,000 krónur a month after tax.

Gunnarsdóttir said the current collective agreements had been negotiated on the understanding that charges on families with children would not increase. She said the development in kindergarten services had gone in the opposite direction, affecting working parents’ finances or their arrangements for days that are not general public holidays.