The groundbreaking Unite for Change campaign is in full swing in NSW, providing a model other states and territories could emulate, using new supported bargaining provisions to improve pay and conditions for teachers and educators.
Launched in April, the campaign is focused on a substantial pay rise for teachers and educators in community-based preschools in NSW and to address the workforce crisis in the sector.
The union is making use of industrial relations reforms passed in 2022 by the federal Labor government. Under new provisions, the supported bargaining stream was introduced, which allows individual preschools to bargain together as a group.
Over 100 preschools are participating in the bargaining process for a single multi enterprise agreement.
Reflecting work value
The supported bargaining process allows the union, the employers and the NSW government to come together to address pay and conditions for preschool teachers.
For the campaign, the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch and preschools have initiated a process with the NSW government to fund pay rises that reflect the value of the work of preschool teachers and educators.
On July 5, IEU members and officials gathered at the Fair Work Commission to file an historic application and show their support for the campaign.
The event attracted significant media attention, including coverage from 7News, 9News and 10 News First, as well as ABC Radio in Newcastle and the Illawarra region, The Canberra Times, 2GB, Australian Associated Press and other regional media.
“A successful outcome would be a game changer, IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews told the media in attendance. “Community preschools are crying out for teachers — their work has been undervalued for far too long and this must be fixed.”
Addressing shortages
Inadequate salaries have contributed to an acute staffing shortage, she said. In other states and territories, community-based, not-for-profit preschools receive considerable state government support.
Matthews called for a 25% increase for beginning teachers in preschools and more for their experienced colleagues. Under the applicable modern award, beginning preschool teachers currently earn $70,045 a year (beginning primary teachers earn $85,000), while the top annual rate for experienced teachers is $90,134 (and the top annual rate for experienced primary teachers is $122,100).
While preschool teachers in most other states and territories earn comparable wages to their counterparts in primary and secondary schools, there’s a gap of up to $30,000 for many in NSW, said IEU member Janene Rox when she addressed the media at the Fair Work Commission.
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Rox, who is a teacher-director at Cronulla Preschool. “Paediatricians are not paid less because they specialise in supporting younger children, so why are we still differentiating between teachers?”
A supported bargaining hearing was held on 2 September at the Fair Work Commission in Sydney.
As a result of the hearing, Deputy President Judith Wright was deciding whether the supported bargaining authorisation would be issued. The union expects a successful outcome. We will keep members posted on the application’s progress.
This update is part of the September 2024 EXEC Extra enewsletter (formerly known as Teachers R Teachers). ECEC Extra is distributed to early childhood teachers, long day care centres and preschools three times per year. You can read past editions of ECEC Extra on our enews homepage or stay across all our updates for early childhood teachers on our ECEC page or via our Facebook community group for members only.
