Childcare in Australia is getting a big shake-up

IN THE lead up to next week’s childcare legislation changes, more than 1000 childcare workers across the country will walk off the job to protest low pay.

Childcare legislation in Australia is getting a shake-up next week.

MORE THAN 1000 childcare workers across the country will strike this week to protest low pay.

They are set to walk off the job at 3.20pm on Wednesday, March 8 — International Women’s Day — to protest their pay rates, urging the Turnbull government to help.

Their aim is to draw attention to the large pay gap between male- and female-dominated professions.

It will be the largest walk-off by early childhood educators and follows a similar action held on Equal Pay Day last year.

But one federal minister says the strike won’t bode well with busy parents reliant on day care workers.

Childcare union United Voice has a long-running wage case in the Fair Work Commission, arguing that the 97 per cent female workforce is underpaid for working in a “pink collar” sector.

United Voice says some are being paid as little as $20 an hour, which is half the average national average and significantly less than workers in male-dominated professions with comparable skills and qualifications.

The aim of Wednesday’s strike is to draw attention to the large pay gap between male- and female-dominated professions.

Figures from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency show the national gender pay gap is 16.2 per cent, with female-dominated industries attracting lower wages than male-dominated industries.

A metal fitter and machinist with a certificate III qualification earns $37.89 per hour, for example, compared with the $20.61 earned by the certificate III qualified educator.

“Their business and mortgages aren’t smaller than anybody else’s and $20 an hour doesn’t cut it,” assistant national secretary Helen Gibbons told ABC TV on Sunday.

Gibbons said they’re urging the government to act because parents can’t afford to pay more.

Workers were leaving the industry because of low pay.

“They go into it with big hearts and a lot of professionalism and a lot of experience and a lot of qualifications,” Gibbons said.

“But they find when it comes to having their own family or making choices about buying a house or where they want to live, that they can’t afford to stay in the sector.”

Helen Gibbons from childcare union United Voice.

Government frontbencher David Gillespie said the strike wouldn’t be welcomed by many mums and dads.

“I don’t think (it) will endear them to a lot of the parents who have pretty busy and complex work arrangements,” the assistant health minister told ABC TV.

Pay rate decisions are for the Fair Work Commission, he added.

The strike will take place just days before national changes to family day care take affect:

Legislation changes affecting family day care from Monday, March 13

On 27 February 2017 the Minister for Education and Training announced changes to the Family Assistance Law affecting Child Care Benefit approved Family Day Care services.

Change one

No one is eligible for child care fee assistance for Family Day Care provided to an individual who has turned 18.

No-one is eligible for child care fee assistance for Family Day Care provided to a child aged 14 years or older, or who attends secondary school, unless a specified circumstances applies.

Change Two

Child care provided by an approved Family Day Care service is not a ‘session of care’ for Grandparent Child Care Benefit (GCCB) or Special Child Care Benefit (SCCB) purposes where reported fees involve amounts for which no individual has incurred a genuine liability, or the reported fees exceed a maximum amount of $12.67 per hour (indexed to $12.84 on 1 July 2017).

Where fees genuinely exceed the maximum amount, the care is only a ‘session of care’ if the Secretary of the Department of Education and Training (the department) considers that individuals have in fact incurred a liability for the fee and the fee is not above what the service would have charged if the GCCB or SCCB rate did not apply.

Change Three

Changes to the 2015 child swapping integrity measure to ensure:

the term ‘engaged in activities for the purposes of the program’ reflects the intent that specified circumstances provide for formal programmed educational activities only, which are outside the control of the Family Day Care educator

clarification of the requirement for evidence of an ‘education’ or ‘work’ exemptions to establish whether the session of care overlaps or conflicts with the study or work and

approved Family Day Care services must have evidence of a specified circumstance within the time frames that they must report the session of care in the Child Care Management System.

— with AAP