Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson for education, has backed the early childhood educators action to Shut Down the Sector on Early Childhood Educator’s Day today and urged the Albanese government to act on wages and workforce shortages.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The Greens are right with early childhood educators as they shut down the sector today.
“The low pay and difficult conditions early childhood educators are subjected to are a national shame. Educators deserve professional pay that reflects the skill and responsibility of the work they do every day.
“Parliament needs to hear these workers’ calls for an immediate pay rise. Early childhood educators, who we know are predominantly women, have been taken for granted for far too long. They’ve had enough.
“The Greens call on the government to bring legislation to lift wages, fix conditions and deal with the critical workforce shortage in early learning and care. These steps, hand in hand with the Greens’ plan for free early learning and care for all, are vital to building a better future.”