A landmark Victorian agreement provides a model for better pay and conditions for early childhood teachers in NSW, writes Lucy Meyer.
At the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch’s early childhood forum and campaign launch on April 5 (see p12), teachers from community-based preschools across NSW heard from the Australian Education Union’s Vice President, Early Education, Cara Nightingale, as she explained how Victorian preschool teachers secured pay and conditions equivalent to school teachers.
“I have absolutely full confidence that you too will get to the same point as we are in Victoria,” Nightingale said.
Nightingale was the keynote speaker at the forum in Sydney, where she laid out how Victoria could be a model for other states to follow.
She helped lead the fight to secure the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement 2020 (see breakout box for conditions, p15). The former kindergarten teacher told attendees that the Victorian agreement is now the “gold standard” for the sector. Working towards that standard “is the reason we’re all here today”.
Collective action
The event marked the start of the multi-employer agreement process for early childhood teachers from community-based preschools in NSW. With the launch of the new ‘Unite for Change’ campaign for better pay and conditions in NSW, there’s much to learn from the Victorian example.
“Like all union bargaining agreements, you build upon and strengthen each iteration of the agreement, membership, and the activism of members around each round of bargaining,” Nightingale said.
To do this, she explained, members should focus on the log of claims process, building networks, identifying other members as leaders, and engaging in industrial and political action, advocacy and lobbying. “All of these things I have mentioned build union power and help to deliver better outcomes for members.”
To Nightingale, the success of any industrial action depends on a sizeable number of engaged members with the will to take collective action. Having delegates who are trained and supported is critical here, she argued, as those delegates need to be ready to fight for the improved pay and conditions early childhood teachers and educators deserve.
For the Victorian agreement, particular attention was given to addressing the unfair expectation of unpaid overtime.
“So, I’m talking committee meetings, after-hours working bees on weekends, all of those things where your employer expects you to be there.
“If members are going to do that work, they must be paid. “No more nice ladies, no more doing things out of the goodness of your heart, because it doesn’t pay the bills.”
The path ahead
Nightingale told attendees that achieving an agreement on par with Victoria would take member support, hard work and persistence. The new supported bargaining laws provide fresh opporunities for members to achieve this.
“This didn’t happen overnight. This has taken many iterations of the agreement, but you will eventuallyget there,” she said.
Despite the toil, Nightingale emphasised the importance and thrill of the work. She wished members “nothing but solidarity” and told them they could do it.
“You’re not alone in this,” Nightingale said. “You have your union here to support you every step of the way. But it does need to be a collective approach.
“So my ask of you today is to commit to going back to your workplaces and networks to start the conversation.”
Nightingale’s presentation inspired attendees. Melinda Gambley of Clunes Community Preschool said: “There’s a good precedent in Victoria that we can copy. This gives us hope and optimism.”
