MORE than 20 Ballarat kindergarten teachers and staff will take their fight for pay parity and equality of working conditions to the steps of parliament next week.
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Led by Linda Brown Kindergarten lead educator and Ballarat and District Kindergarten Teachers Association secretary Julie Duggan, staff plan to take a train to Melbourne’s central business district and walk from Collins Street to the steps of parliament in Spring Street.
Weeks ago, it was revealed preschool teachers planned to strike for 24 hours next Wednesday after negotiations for a new pay deal broke down.
The Australian Education Union’s Victorian branch expects about 400 preschool teachers and educators to attend the protest.
The union has previously rejected a pay increase of 2.25 per cent, with issues surrounding workload and employee classification structures unresolved.
Ms Duggan said preschool educators wanted the same conditions and pay as primary school teachers.She said in recent months, the workload of preschool educators had continued to soar, but there had been no recognition of their work.
Ms Duggan said educators in the kindergarten sector were paid up to 20 per cent less than teachers and endured more challenging conditions including maternity and long-service leave.
“As a full-time kindergarten teacher I will teach about 50 children per week,” Ms Duggan.
“This is about double the amount of children of many primary school teachers.”
Ms Duggan said conditions for kindergarten co-educators were also challenging. A level one co-educator received just $16.36 per hour and a level two educator received only $17.48, she said.
Ms Duggan said without drastically improved conditions and pay parity, the kindergarten sector would fail to entice educated and high-calibre candidates to the industry.
“The sector is going to see a real depletion in the standard of staff and educators if they do not address those issues,” Ms Duggan said.
“The quality is just going to go down because students completing their studies get much better conditions and pay embarking on a career within the primary school sector than they do in the kindergarten sector.”
It remains unclear how many centres might be forced to close while the statewide protest takes place.
Municipal Association of Victoria president Bill McArthur said last month that early childcare centres run by councils across Victoria would not be affected by the protected industrial action.
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au