Early Childhood Teachers campaign updates

Supported Bargaining Application

Fair Work Act has been amended to allow for sector wide bargaining from July 1, 2023

The IEU along with the AEU, UWU and employer groups have been working towards a sector wide agreement for early childhood services to improve wages and conditions for all employees in the sector.

The union filed an application on June 6, 2023, seeking an agreement to cover 64 employers with long day care services across Australia. This agreement will only cover services that do not have a current enterprise agreement in place. The application covers long day care services only and if successful other long day care services may be roped into the agreement.

We are hopeful that federal government will provide additional funding for wage increases.

Unite for Change preschool campaign

The IEU has launched the Unite for Change campaign for better pay and conditions in community-based preschools in NSW. We are asking our members in NSW preschools to support the campaign by starting a conversation in your preschool, speaking to your parent management committee and reaching out to your colleagues in other preschools.

If you are not employed in a NSW preschool but know people who are, please share and discuss our campaign with them. As always, please encourage anyone who has not already joined the union to do so, click here.

ACECQA National Workforce Strategy

The IEUA is part of the ACECQA National Workforce Strategy Stakeholder Reference Group, which gave feedback on the Review of National Quality Framework Staffing and Qualifications Regulations. We were united in the opinion that teacher ratios and qualification requirements should not be reduced.

New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA)

The IEU is a representative on the New South Wales Education Standards Authority Early Childhood Reference Group. Responsibilities include attending meetings and consulting on reforms to Teacher Accreditation, including the introduction of the new NSW Teacher Accreditation Manual in August 2023 and the transition process for early childhood teachers who are seeking to achieve Proficient Teacher Accreditation.

Goodstart Joint Consultative Committee

The IEU represents our early childhood teachers on the Goodstart Joint Consultative Committee. Meetings are held four times a year. Discussions in 2023 include the ongoing shortage of staff in services, and the impact on rostering and non-contact time.

Thrive By Five

As members of the Educator Action Group, the Independent Education Union was part of the consultation and development of the Thrive by Five Workforce Action Plan.

Key demands: 

Fund an immediate pay rise for early childhood educators and teachers, comparable to the salary and conditions of school education sectors.
Amend the Fair Work Act to allow for effective equal pay cases and sector-level bargains to better reflect the professional value of the work performed by early childhood educators and teachers.
Put the National Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Strategy on the Jobs Summit agenda.
Establish a process for sector collaboration around longer-term early childhood education and care workforce reform to consider tertiary education of educators and teachers, developing mechanisms for better addressing First Nations and culturally diverse needs in the sector, more support for staff retention and attraction including in under-represented cohorts and prioritising early childhood education and care jobs in local skills and employment planning.