Comments from providers suggest that higher salaries and a better career structure in local authority-run centres have caused a 'brain drain' of well-qualified and talented staff away from the private sector.
Patricia McGinty, a director of the Scottish Independent Nurseries Association and owner of the Bishopsbriggs Childcare Centre in East Dunbartonshire, said she had noticed staff 'leaving in droves' from both her nursery and other private nurseries in the East Dunbartonshire region.
She said, 'Many of the staff are not even leaving to take up permanent jobs, but are instead joining supply lists at East Dunbartonshire council.
They hope that by being on the lists they will eventually secure a permanent contract.'
Ms McGinty believes the problem is particularly acute in East Dunbartonshire because Unison nursery nurses won Scotland's highest pay settlement of Pounds 10.46 an hour in April 2004. The pay award brought full-time starting salaries in the local authority-run centres to between 15,582 and Pounds 19,029.
A private nursery owner in Falkirk, who did not wish to be named, has also reported problems. Under last year's deal, nursery nurses and nursery officers working for Falkirk council had their job titles changed to early years officers and the senior nursery nurse post was re-graded. The salary for a senior early years officer rose to 19,632 to 21,732.
The nursery owner said, 'We invest a lot of time in training staff and then risk losing our most experienced and qualified workers to these senior local authority posts. When private providers in Falkirk advertise jobs with the lower salaries we find we are getting younger, less experienced staff applying. We then have to invest in training all over again, which is a very costly business.'
Ms McGinty has written a letter to David Anderson, head of social inclusion and community development at East Dunbartonshire council, to highlight what she calls the 'dire situation'.
East Dunbartonshire council has subsequently invited Ms McGinty and some of her colleagues to a meeting to discuss the issues. The council also acknowledged problems were occurring across Scotland.
A spokesperson from the council said, 'This is a national issue and we are aware of the concerns of Ms McGinty and other independent providers. Senior education officials and the education convener have invited representatives of private nurseries to a meeting to discuss the situation.'
The impact of last year's pay settlements on Scotland's private nursery providers was borne out in the Scottish Executive's Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2004, published last month.
The statistics revealed a growing gap between salaries in the private and local authority sectors. Following the pay settlements, childcare workers in private nurseries earn an average of 6 an hour compared with 10.60 an hour in local authority-run centres.
Although average hourly pay in the private sector rose just 20 pence last year, pay in local authority-run early years centres jumped by 1.10 - more than five times as much.