They were some of the 1000 Australian Education Union members and supporters that met in Melbourne before marching to Parliament House. 

Monica Wain attended the march in solidarity with early childhood educators. 

Ms Wain resigned from her position at Woady Yaloak kindergarten in April after 35 years of work.

She said she would have worked unpaid overtime every day of the week. 

“I still think it’s the best job in the world, but I was just tired from the job. I had to finish for the sake of my health,” she said. 

Enterprise Bargaining Agreement negotiations broke down between employers Early Learning Association Australia and the Municipals Association of Victoria in September. 

Linda Brown, Creswick, Bakery Hill preschools and Sebastopol, Woady Yaloak, Fidelity, Jubilee kindergartens teachers and educators from Ballarat took part in the rally. 

AEU Victoria branch president Meredith Peace said it was the first time in more than 10 years that preschool teachers and educators had taken action over salary and conditions. 

She said they had been negotiating the EBA for 14 months without any significant progress. 

“Victoria’s preschool teachers are currently paid between five and nine per cent less than their school colleagues respectively at the beginning and top of the salary scale,” Ms Peace said. 

“In fact, the employer groups have consistently failed to address key issues of salary and increased workload demands.”

nicole.cairns@fairfaxmedia.com.au