49,000 and counting – pay rises a reality for early educators
January 24, 2025 ACTU.
An extra 20,100 early educators are set to receive the first stage of a 15 percent pay rise under the Albanese Government’s wage justice for early educators’ reforms.

The Fair Work Commission will hear applications today to add a further 20,100 early educators to the sector’s multi-employer agreement, enabling them to receive a 10 percent pay rise.

Childcare operators have agreed to join the multi-employer agreement so they can offer their educators the long sought after pay rise.

Almost 49,000 early educators will now receive the 10 percent pay rise, following today’s application to rope in extra centres to the multi-employer agreement, that was ratified in December.

The groundswell of employer support for the agreement now includes a growing number of smaller childcare centres, alongside Australia’s six largest early education providers and covers workers in 1800 centres.

Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus:

“This is how you get wages moving and respect the hardworking people in the childcare sector who for a decade under the previous Coalition government were ignored, taken for granted and shockingly underpaid.

“For Peter Dutton to call paying early educators properly a ‘sugar hit’ shows he has no idea what it is like to survive on $45,000 a year which many of these essential workers used to get paid.

“This pay deal through the Albanese Government is about respecting these workers and respecting women.”

Quotes attributable to United Workers Union President, Jo Schofield:

“Providers are telling us the pay rise is doing what it was supposed to do, becoming an important tool to attract and retain educators needed to provide quality education and care to families and children.

“There are clear incentives for providers to jump on board and give educators the pay rise, with reasonable caps on fee increases giving families confidence they are not going to face an upsurge in their childcare expenses.

“The groundbreaking multi-employer agreement has been taken up by providers both big and small as the easiest, quickest and most reliable way to deliver the much needed 15 per cent pay rise to early educators.”

Education is big business.

Have you ever seen a uni go broke ?

They get bigger handouts than corrupt casino operations.