Even as the effects of the new coronavirus continue to prolong, childcare facilities are required to open.
What kind of burden do you feel at the daycare site?
On the 12th of this month after the state of emergency was declared, I was in close contact with a nursery school in Tokyo.
Even if there are enough staff ...
The person who responded to the interview was the licensed nursery school "Shiinamachi Himawari Nursery School" in Toshima Ward, Tokyo.
We accept 68 children from 1 to 6 years old.
Full-time childcare workers, nutritionists, nurses, and part-time workers who fully meet national standards are working, but they are busy with additional work to deal with the new coronavirus.
In the last emergency declaration in April last year, the park was temporarily closed due to the policy of the ward, and only a few children such as children of medical personnel were accepted, but in this emergency declaration, we continue to accept all children. ..
Whether you wipe it or wipe it ...
The biggest burden is indoor disinfection work.
On the day of the interview, the work of nursery teacher Hiroshi Tsukada (30), who went to work after 7 am due to an early shift, begins with disinfecting the lockers of the children.
Disinfect the room as much as possible by 9 am when many children go to the park.
After finishing the locker, I tried to disinfect the desk and chair, but I stopped here.
There was a child who was having trouble changing clothes and organizing his luggage, so I will help him once.
I tried to wipe the desk again, but it was interrupted again by the voice of the child, "I have no origami!".
I started disinfecting the building blocks when the children finally calmed down and started playing, but soon another child hugged me, so I stopped again.
Even after that, the work will not proceed due to the support of children and parents who have come to the park.
It was 10 am and it was time for the children to go for a walk in the nearby park.
I usually accompany Mr. Tsukada, but on this day I decided to leave it to another nursery teacher to disinfect the rest.
Mr. Tsukada said, "Since there is a limit to disinfection in the presence of children, staff members remain before noon and in the evening after returning. In addition to the increase in disinfection work, how much disinfection is sufficient I feel a heavy burden as I continue to groping for it. "
Again, “social distance”
Around 11:30 am, the children who came back from the walk started preparing lunch.
Until the infection spread, nursery teachers also sat side by side at the children's tables, teaching them how to hold chopsticks, and eating together while checking their mental and physical condition with their eating conditions and facial expressions. It was.
However, now I have a table about 2 meters away from the children and eat silently.
Mr. Tsukada says that he finds it difficult to keep an eye on the growth of children every day while taking thorough measures against infection.
Mr. Tsukada said, "There are parts of children that can only be raised now, and for that reason I would like to give them various experiences through their daily lives and events, but the situation continues to be limited. It is our number one wish to be able to spend time, and for that reason we are currently taking measures against infection as much as possible, but to be honest, there are some pains, "he reveals in his heart.
What the principal is looking for
We are also struggling to procure equipment necessary for infection control.
Masks and rubbing alcohol are now available compared to last spring, but paper towels used by staff and children after washing their hands and gloves for treating filth such as diapers are available. It's hard to get.
Therefore, the director and clerical staff search the Internet sales site every day between duties.
Normally, I couldn't find the item I was buying on this day, but I found a paper towel whose unit price is about 10% higher than usual.
The director decided to buy it because the stock in the nursery school was almost exhausted.
Mitsuko Endo, director of Himawari Nursery School in Shiina-cho, said, "It's really hard to make a shift so that you can safely disinfect while watching your child. To support the staff who continue to work as the infection spreads, the government will replenish personnel. I also want you to consider subsidies for buying hygiene products. "
Trade union survey "very tired" highest in the last 10 years
A labor union survey found that the on-site exhaustion of childcare facilities is becoming more serious.
This is a survey conducted annually by the National Welfare and Childcare Labor Union. This time, it was conducted from October last year to last month, and we received responses from 2,249 childcare workers and nutritionists working at childcare facilities nationwide.
According to this, about half of the respondents who answered that they were "very tired" about "physical and mental fatigue from their usual work", which was the highest in the past 10 years.
When asked "Have you ever wanted to quit your job?", 12% answered "I always think", which was also the highest in the last 10 years.
485 people filled in the free text box, and nearly 30% of them complained about the increased work burden and stress caused by the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
Specifically, "I am trying to improve childcare while protecting the lives of my children in anxiety about how long it will last, but I have a lot of work and there is a shortage of personnel, and I am tired." There was an urgent voice saying, "I can't refresh at all because I think it will cause trouble for the garden and parents. I'm already at the limit physically and mentally."
In addition, there were many voices calling for financial support, such as "I couldn't close the park even with the corona sickness, and the nursery teacher was working while feeling the danger of infection. There should be an allowance commensurate with that."
Based on this result, the union will request the national and local governments to provide subsidies to secure human resources for disinfection and other operations, and to drastically improve treatment such as raising wage levels. ..
Nao Sawamura, general secretary of the National Welfare and Childcare Labor Union, said, "While I am tired due to chronic labor shortages, new work to deal with the virus has increased, and the accumulated fatigue continues to accumulate without recovery. First of all, as an urgent measure, I would like you to consider subsidies that can secure human resources to take charge of infection prevention work. "