GOVERNMENT FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT FORGETS WORKERS IN EARLY EDUCATION

The United Workers Union (UWU) welcomes additional Federal money for early education but the Federal Government’s recent announcement offers no solution to a growing crisis in the sector.

“The Federal Government’s announcement of $1.7billion to fund early childhood education is a band-aid on a sector in crisis,” said UWU ECEC Director Helen Gibbons.

“The announcement provides some financial relief to some families, but provides no funding linked to improving the quality of the sector or educator wages.

“The early education sector is facing a workforce crisis, without enough qualified educators to meet current demand due to high turnover. The Federal Government’s announcement will only increase that demand, without providing any support for educators to stay in the sector.

“The system is broken, and this half-hearted attempt by the Federal Government is not good enough and speaks more to a short term political fix than a vision of delivering a world class early education system.

“There can be no resolution to the growing crisis in early education without directing funding to pay early childhood educators a decent wage, and to ensure quality standards across the sector.

“United Workers Union calls on Scott Morrison and the Federal Government to deliver a Budget which addresses the workforce crisis in early education.”