The IEU’s Unite for Change community preschool bargaining team met at the Fair Work Commission on 12 February to discuss pay rises.
The team was joined by the representatives from Community Early Learning Australia (CELA), the peak body for Australia’s early childhood education sector, to discuss plans for campaigning for government-funded pay increases for teachers and educators in community preschools.
A focus of the meeting was achieving pay equity with teachers in NSW government preschools, who are paid the same as primary and secondary teachers in government schools.
Improved conditions including paid parental leave, more personal leave and allowances for directors and educational leaders are also under discussion.
The supported bargaining agreement currently includes 103 preschool services in NSW. For services and employees that are not part of the current bargaining, you can vote to join the agreement in the future.
The February meeting follows earlier talks in December between the IEU bargaining team, including preschool ambassadors, officials from the NSW Department of Education and CELA representatives.
At the meeting, held before Fair Work Commission Deputy President Judith Wright, the ambassadors outlined the union’s claims for government-funded wage increases for teachers and educators in NSW community preschools.
The union ambassadors spoke about the need for change in the preschool sector and the staffing crisis in preschools. They also gave evidence from their services about losing teachers and educators to schools.
Pay rises would help attract and retain quality staff.
However, the government has not yet formally committed to addressing the staffing crisis through pay rises.
The next meeting will take place at the Fair Work Commission on 5 March. Department of Education officials will again attend, and it’s time for a commitment to funding community preschools to ensure comparable pay with teachers in schools.
If you need more information about our Unite for Change campaign, please contact your IEU organiser, or call the IEU on 02 8202 8900.