I became an early childhood educator 31 years ago. After leaving high school I wanted a career that made a difference.
But 31 years later, I am walking off the job today because I, and my colleagues, feel the Turnbull Government is simply refusing to acknowledge the difference educators make.
I know I make a difference to the lives of children and their families when I see the wonderful people I looked after as babies now as adults, and they say, “I remember when …”. Or when a parent who may have needed a little bit of help and understanding comes back and gives you a hug and a genuine thank you.
Being an early childhood educator is more than sitting and playing with children – though this is important too, because we all know that children learn best through play. Being an educator often means unpaid early starts to prepare for the day and completing the necessary paperwork as per government legislation. I very rarely get to leave on time at the end of the day because the children’s needs come first and the paperwork gets completed after.
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On a typical day within the nursery, I have eight individual routines to follow for eating, sleeping, and bottles. In my role, I am also responsible for the overall program and the learning of the day. Implementing these programs is continuous throughout the day. This is all on top of changing 50+ nappies, preparing 32 meals and giving six bottles every day.
In my service we have introduced the carers’ curriculum, this sits alongside our service curriculum for birth to three-year-olds, which also sits alongside the Early Years Learning framework. You can see how much educators need to be across.
READ MORE: Thousands of childcare educators are walking off the job today across Australia.
I do all of this and I still struggle to pay the big five bills (mortgage, rates, electricity, gas and water) when they fall, while putting food on the table each night. After 31 years, I am still waiting to go on a holiday.
Educators like me are walking off the job because it’s a disgrace that, in 2018, I am expected to live on a wage that is half the national average for the professional work I do, and am qualified to do. The government needs to stand up and take responsibility and pay educators the professional wage we need and the professional wage we rightfully deserve.
If they don’t, the future for this sector is very bleak. We will continue to lose quality educators who simply cannot afford to live on this wage. The future generations of Australian children deserve more than this.
Leah Malzard is a Brisbane educator, and will be walking off in the fight for professional pay on Tuesday 27 March.
Top Comments
This won't make me popular but having children is a choice. Every choice has consequences.
I definitely agree that childcarers are underpaid - they should definitely be paid more. It is not ok that I can go out to Woollies tomorrow and get a job (with no prior knowledge/ experience etc) and get paid more than someone who needs a qualification to start a job.
Here's the bit that won't make me popular though - whenever this debate starts it comes down to who is going to pay for it. It is either going to be the government, the parents, or the child care centres. I believe it should be the parents who wear the cost.
The care of children costs money - for some families that shows up in the loss of one parents wage while they stay home to raise the children. For other families, who outsource this care by going back to work and sending the kids to childcare, they have childcare fees.
The bonuses/ incentives from the government for having children are much higher now than in years gone past (my now high schoolers only qualified for a payment of around $800, not the thousands of dollars that people get now!). The government is effectively already contributing to childcare by paying Maternity bonuses, child care benefits, family tax benefits etc. It is not as though they aren't paying anything, which is something conveniently forgotten when people start talking about how the government and taxpayer has a collective responsibility to pay more. So where does this stop? Do we expect the government to fully fund every child in every way?
Yes child carers should be paid more. And parents should be the ones paying for it. Sorry guys!
Agree with you. Having children is a personal investment that two people make. It's not reasonable to expect that said investment be supported indefinitely and infinitely by the taxpayer. If you can't afford the cost of rearing children (in spite of the benefits already available to you), this should be taken into account before they arrive.
Do you think parents should pay for school as well? And that public schools should be abolished?
All of society benefits from raising children well and educating them, including early childhood education.
And all of society benefits from having parents working and contributing to the community - including paying taxes.
I agree children are a choice, I’m also fine with paying for child care however on the flip side I’d argue that smoking and becoming obese are also “lifestyle” choices .... so when will my tax dollars stop being spent on PBS drugs and hospital admissions for preventable disease????
I was under the impression my taxes helped pay for schooling.
Can you cite a study for those last 2 statements? I haven't seen one, not to say they aren't out there.
I'm surprised at the women in this comment section stating that childcare workers don't deserve a decent pay rise. I've just had to put my 12 month old into daycare and I think the people who look after our most precious little people deserve to be paid an adequate wage for doing so.
I feel like I can barely look after one baby on my own, let alone feed, nap, comfort and play with multiple babies at once. And no I don't think the pay increase should come from the mothers. We shouldn't be penalised for having children. It's not my fault that living costs in this country are so high that I am forced to return to work.
I want to know that my sweet boy is being cared for be someone who isn't being forced to watch 6 babies at once. That they have the time and incentive to make his day as full and fun as possible. The government needs get its priorities right and start investing in those who are investing in our next generation.
People aren't being penalised for having children, they are seeing the results of the decisions they made around having children.
I agree they should be paid more, but who is going to pay for it? It doesn't make financial sense to most people to pay $200 a day for child care.
The government should pay it. Our taxes should pay it. It's one area that shouldn't be privatised. And, its women who mostly see the results of these decisions, as they are the ones missing out on careers and qualifications and super because they can't afford to go to work. And the workforce misses out on the valuable contribution of women. It's about time we had a proper discussion about this in Australia, the importance of child care to the economy and how woefully backwards we are in our view towards it.
Food for thought: registered nurses (with a university degree) who work in the community in nursing homes often have a ratio of upwards of 30 or 40 residents per RN. Watching 6 babies is arguably much easier.
How much tax are you prepared to pay? When my taxes are increased, I have to sacrifice something else in my life for the loss of that income. I certainly don't mind my taxes going towards helping struggling families. But, I object to a tax increase so that high income earners receive more government benefits, which enables them to bugger off to Bali every year. If you don't believe this happens, take a trip to the airport every school holidays.