LHMU Opinion Piece - Early Childhood Wages

LHMU Opinion Piece - Early Childhood Wages
Key to delivering quality and continuity

A major reform agenda is playing out in the early childhood field prompted by growing community awareness of the importance of the early learning years to lifelong learning and social wellbeing. The federal government has instigated a major overhaul of quality drivers in the sector – with a focus on both structural and process elements.

Changes to ratios will make a big difference to workers' capacity in the sector to deliver a meaningful play based approach to learning and care. But the real impact of reform will only be realised through workforce changes focused on skills and retention – and key to both is what workers earn in the sector.

Currently most people working in long day care are paid according to a legal instrument called an award. The award sets out minimum wages and conditions. Historically there have been a number, some 15 awards, operating across the sector but this year these have been replaced by two awards – the Children's Services Award 2010 and the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2010 as part of the federal government's creation of a modern award framework.

The new awards will be phased in over a transition period of 5 years. The minimum rates set out in the new award are set out below but these vary substantially across the country depending on historical award practice. These rates are those applying from the July 1 Annual Wage Review. Wages for an unqualified child care worker at entry level start at $15.34, a qualified worker with a Certificate III has a minimum entry level rate of $17.46 an hour, a Director of a Centre has a minimum entry level of $24.80 per hour, and an Early Childhood Teacher has a minimum entry level of $20.83 per hour.

Caution needs to be exercised in using these figures as great variation occurs across the sector. There is also an incidence of bargaining across some centres. Contact should be made to the local branch of LHMU for further detailed wage information.

The one consistent issue when it comes to pay is that the pay rates do not appropriately reflect the skill, experience, dedication or work of the people working in early childhood education and care. The pay fails to value the work, and fails to provide dedicated workers in the sector, the appropriate return that their professionalism and qualifications justify.

Not surprisingly the sector struggles with staff retention. Despite continuity of care being a critical issue for parents' and children, turnover in the sector continues to be high and will only be appropriately addressed when remuneration is addressed.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations research into turnover rates in the child care sector makes for sobering reading, as the table below indicates:

Job turnover by job classification over the previous 12 months (Australia, 2005)
	Total staff	Total vacant positions	Job turnover
Director/coordinator/teacher in charge	10,013	2,782	28%
Preschool/kindergarten teacher	8,575	2,165	25%
Qualified contact worker	21,458	7,255	34%
Unqualified contact worker	23,462	8,761	37%
Other	4,788	1,185	25%
Total	68,297	22,148	32%

A number of factors contribute to turnover and exit from the sector but invariably the underlying issue is lack of adequate respect and recognition for the work undertaken – as expressed in people's weekly wages.

Many readers of CareforKids.com.au are aware of the workforce problems in the sector. The recent 2010 survey found an overwhelming number of respondents, 77.5 per cent, agreed that child care professionals are underpaid and undervalued.

The next stage of reform must address this critical issue.

According to LHMU National Secretary Louise Tarrant: "Members have enthusiastically embraced the need for quality reforms in the sector. Working with the federal government to improve ratios, to build a skills-based career path and to finally win recognition for the development and educative aspects of early years work has been incredibly important.

But the quality vision can't be fulfilled till workers can genuinely access up-skilling and be appropriately remunerated for the skills they have and acquire and the work they do.

Too many good people have worked long and hard in the establishment and operation of the long day care sector with little personal reward. And now we face the problem of not only maintaining the commitment and activism of those people but of attracting and keeping the next generation workforce."

Indeed, it is estimated that by 2013 Australia will need another 7,000 child care workers. So not only do we need strategies that address the current turnover of 1 in 3 staff but we also need to grow the current workforce.

So how do we ensure that we can attract and retain qualified professionals eager to forge a career in the early childhood area?

There are a number of initiatives that can facilitate staff recruitment and retention including:

Helping existing workers access the courses available through TAFE and University to gain the new qualifications required in the sector;
Recognising the skills already present in the sector through recognition of prior learning; and
Rewarding professional work with professional wages.

The LHMU has embarked on achieving these changes through its Big Steps in child care campaign as explained by Louise Tarrant:

"The LHMU Big Steps in child care campaign is about child care professionals getting together to win an appropriately funded, professionally recognised, quality child care sector. LHMU members are committed to engaging with employers in partnership to improve the professional standing of the children's services workforce."

For further information on the union's campaign or to find your local branch visit www.lhmu.org.au