Nice moved to the rhythm of rattles yesterday morning. At Place Masséna, pediatric nurses are angry, and they’re making it known. Amidst banners and flags, the nursery assistants want to be heard. So they all proclaim in unison: “No babies on hold!”
Marie, 34 years old, is an assistant in a nursery, and for her, there’s no question of letting this decree pass: “12 children per assistant is just babysitting! Enough is enough! If this decree is enacted, we won’t be able to work properly. So, we say yes to quality and no to budget care!”
According to the collective “No babies on hold,” the establishments that today accommodate 60 children will have to take in 72 after the decree, with no increase in staff. The proportion of qualified professionals is expected to decrease from 50% to 40%.
Concerned parents
For the parents, this day was challenging: only a few nurseries welcomed children yesterday. Some chose to march alongside early childhood professionals.
This is the case for Pierre, a teacher and father of an eighteen-month-old girl: “As a dad, I’m really worried. We’re heading towards basic babysitting, meaning children will be less well-educated and parents won’t want to put their children in nurseries anymore. It’s a vicious circle. We need qualified and motivated staff.”
In any case, there were many staff members yesterday morning around Place Masséna. According to the police, there were more than 400 protestors, accompanied by about twenty national and municipal police officers.
The petition launched by the collective “No babies on hold” is set to be delivered to the mayor’s office. “Nothing has changed at the governmental level this morning. But we will stay here until they listen to us,” exclaims Brigitte, a pediatric nurse from Nice.
Today, nurseries and daycare centers are expected to reopen their doors to welcome all the children who stayed with their parents during this strike day.
