26 JunNational Strategy for the Care and Support Economy
ELAA’s submission on the draft National Strategy identifies the unique complexities associated with the ECEC sector and how these compare with other care and support sectors. This includes specific recommendations highlighting how the ECEC sector contributes to the care and support economy and how this can be improved.
All recommendations focus on an ECEC perspective but are applicable to other care and support sectors. Below is a summary of ELAA’s recommendations to the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s draft National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy:
manage the market by examining the New Zealand approach and limiting the capacity of services and providers to grow unless they meet or exceed the National Quality Standards
- ensure services that do not meet the National Quality Standards (NQS) are rated annually, and all other services every three years, further strengthening the consistency and regularity of rating against the NQS
- avoid compromising on quality and qualification when addressing workforce shortages
- that the draft National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy advocates for an increase in wages and conditions for the ECEC workforce
- to acknowledge the important role that upskilling the workforce has on worker retention
- streamline the process of visa applications, reducing double handling and making applications accessible for more migrant workers
- for the National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy to actively encourage the implementation of menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause wellbeing policies
- for there to be practical working arrangements such as increased access to toilet breaks during menstruation, for Care and Support workers who often work in roles that limit their ability to access female hygiene products.
To read ELAA’s submission, please CLICK HERE.
