Nursery workers across the country will close the centers on Sept. 7 and go on strike because of poor pay and the conditions that are causing early learning educators to leave the sector en masse.
Delegates from the United Workers Union of Australia voted on Wednesday to quit the job to indicate to the new government that it urgently needs to increase funding so that qualified staff can receive salaries equal to those of primary school teachers.
Early learning educators plan to strike across the country for poor conditions and wages. Credit: Oscar Colman
UWU Director of Early Education Helen Gibbons said the marches will be held nationwide, including in front of Parliament, on a date usually set to celebrate early learning educators, who are given cupcakes as a thank you.
“The first educators are clear: no more cupcakes. It’s time for real change, ”Gibbons said.
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“We know that this is a new government, but this has been coming for a long time, and educators are leaving en masse, schools are rejecting enrollment because there are not enough staff. We need action and a plan and we need it quickly and we are not ready to wait. “
Gibbons said that although there were individual negotiations in the workplace, industrial action was directed directly at the government to improve conditions and job retention and provide sufficient funding to the sector to ensure that staff receive its value.
“Educators can earn just about $ 24 an hour and have a qualification and all that experience and huge responsibilities. It’s a very intense and difficult job. It’s a big job and we know the work they do is very important, but it’s not. they feel taken care of, ”he said.
Gibbons said the union had polled members last year and 37% said it intended to leave within a year.