Approximately 200 people gathered at Place Garibaldi yesterday in the middle of the morning to protest against the Government’s “austerity policy.”
“We, the CGT, demand that this government cut the cord of austerity,” proclaimed a departmental representative of the union at the launch of this interprofessional demonstration. Nursery assistants, nursing aides from the Antibes hospital, and performing artists were present to demand better recognition of their professions, which have been hard-hit by the health crisis the country has been facing for 10 months.
Some are sounding the alarm: “We have beautiful professions essential to the well-being of society that help embody the motto ‘liberty, equality, fraternity.’ But our jobs are not valued. The lack of staff has severe consequences on the health of the personnel.”
A strike notice had been filed by the collective “No Babies in the Cloakroom” to demand the repeal of the reform regarding the law for the Acceleration and Simplification of Public Action (ASAP). This modification aims to allow the Government to proceed by decree to simplify the childcare standards, such as reducing the minimum care space per child, increasing the exceptional admissions in childcare facilities (nurseries or micro-nurseries), or raising the number of children per early childhood professional to six.
These measures could be implemented as early as the beginning of 2021, leading to an increased workload and a decrease in the quality of childcare.
