I’m Apsana Begum Secretary of Tower Hamlets Labour Party
I want to commend this motion to conference, particularly its mention of precarious work conditions of care workers- the majority of whom are women.
Paid and unpaid care is badly undervalued in our society.
I’m part of a campaign to stop the closure of our public nurseries in Tower Hamlets.
The nurseries are largely run by BAME women, who are trained to educate children who have incredibly complex needs.
They have an excellent reputation for helping children l
We are in the midst of a National childcare crisis.
In Tower Hamlets private chain nurseries are cashing in on the crisis and charging up to £23,000 a year for places!
This motion is about Women and the Economy – £6 billion of taxpayers’ money subsidises childcare each year much of which goes into the private sector, with little accountability.
In Tower Hamlets we have 53% child poverty. Time after time it has been proven that proper public investment Early Years
is not only the right choice for equality,
But also for the economy, we save money in the long term if children are prepared for school, if their caring and educational needs are met at this early stage.
We need public day nurseries in Tower Hamlets, in Salford and across the country.
This motion is excellent but it misses out the key issue of childcare.
Without this Women will never have equality of opportunity in the work place.
Learn English as a second language vital for our large Bangladeshi community.