<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>334117</docID> <postdate>2024-11-27 12:29:50</postdate> <headline>Changing lives: childcare worker pay increase lauded</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-334118" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20181003001364427766-original-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="902" height="616" /></p> <caption>More than 200,000 childcare workers will receive a 15 per cent wage increase over two years. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p class="wire-column__preview__author"><span class="kicker-line">By <b>Kat Wong</b> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Early childhood educators and childcare workers have been recognised for their work after years of being underpaid and undervalued.</strong></p> <p>More than 200,000 childcare workers will receive a 15 per cent wage increase over two years, after the pay bump passed parliament late on Tuesday night.</p> <p>This means those on the award rate will take home an extra $155 every week by the end of 2025, which was a first step towards ensuring the sector's workers are fairly compensated for their work.</p> <p>"This is what our early educators do: it's not baby sitting, it's early education," Education Minister Jason Clare told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.</p> <p>"It's not about changing nappies, it's about changing lives."</p> <p>To ensure costs are not passed onto parents, the federal government will cover the price of the pay bump for childcare providers that agree to limit fee increases.</p> <p>The law has been broadly welcomed with Jay Weatherill, the Minderoo Foundation's lead on its universal childcare campaign, noting it was an important first step.</p> <p>"Educators are the backbone of the early childhood education and care sector," he said.</p> <p>"Australia's children and families will also benefit from this reform by getting the best start to life from a high-quality early education delivered by early educators whose value to our nation is truly recognised.</p> <p>The Greens have argued the measure is "woefully inadequate" and say Labor should have increased wages by 25 per cent.</p> <p>"This is not a pay rise; this is a two-year pay bump," Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May said.</p> <p>"We can't fix our childcare system with half-hearted measures."</p> <p>The laws are part of the federal government's efforts to tackle workforce shortages in the early childhood education sector.</p> <p>About 21,000 more qualified professionals are required to address the current shortfall, and another 18,000 are needed to meet future demand, according to Jobs and Skills Australia.</p> </body>