Thrive by Five calls for review of Fair Work Bill to consider Early Educators
14 November 2022 – Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five initiative has delivered a submission to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee’s review of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022, saying it is crucial to consider the Bill’s capacity to address the growing early learning workforce crisis that is caused by low wages.
The submission calls on all stakeholders to sit at the table to fund a pay rise for early childhood educators:
“Thrive by Five urges the Federal Government, state governments, ECEC service providers, unions and business leaders to meet and find a way to provide for, and fund, an increase in wages for workers in the ECEC sector without passing on the cost for a wage increase to parents.”
Thrive by Five Director Jay Weatherill said “Improved wages is key to solving the workforce crisis which is necessary to transform our current early learning system into a comprehensive, high-quality, universally accessible, and affordable early learning system.
“Thrive by Five urges the State and Federal Governments, early learning service providers, unions and business leaders to meet and find a way to provide, and fund, an increase in wages for workers in the sector without passing on the cost for a wage increase to parents.
“We must increase the pay for educators right now without increasing the cost-of-living burden on families through increased fees. This is vital for a comprehensive, high-quality system that will benefit all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Universal, high-quality and affordable early childhood education can benefit all children, families and the Australian economy. There is no reason to wait.”
Thrive by Five’s submission can be accessed here:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/SecureJobsBetterPay/Submissions
