Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1328 ..

MS GALLAGHER (continuing):

On average, a child in a long day care centre full time-costs do vary-costs between $200 and $250 per week. If the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union seeks to negotiate an enterprise agreement with a child-care centre, they do so knowing that there is a limitation: a parent's ability to fund the pay increase. It is also dependent on whether the child-care centre is full of children and thereby receiving maximum fees.

In the ACT the LHMU has managed to negotiate 17 EBAs. This is more than in any other state or territory. This is fantastic and shows that the union is organising and trying to improve the conditions of child-care workers. The fact, though-and I am sure the union will agree with me with this one-is that child-care workers and union members in centres with a relatively affluent parent community have achieved better wage and conditions outcome than those in less affluent child-care communities.

Because of this, EBAs in child care are an equity issue. Children from less affluent communities can only attract staff on minimum award conditions, whereas children from affluent communities can attract staff with better conditions and wages. The end result of this is that some centres have more difficulty attracting staff than others, and this can have an impact on centres and the children in those centres.

Another problem is that if centres increase wages across the board-that is, if there is wage parity-smaller child-care centres, centres in less affluent communities and centres operating in outlying suburbs can all be disadvantaged by this and forced to close, because parents would have to pay the increase.

No matter how hard the union pushes to improve wages and conditions, unless the federal government comes to the party and funds a wage increase, then chances are that some of these equity issues I have just spoken about will increase and some families will not be able to access child care. This is not something I want to see happen.

Let us look at the staffing problem in the ACT. Licensing requirements are that child-care centres employ qualified child-care professionals. These qualifications require a minimum of a diploma in children services or a child-care level 4. I know from my own experience as a parent and president of my child-care centre the recent difficulties we faced in employing a child-care level 4 at our centre. It took months, and even when we did find one we only had one part time.

Turnover in the ACT child-care industry is extremely high, running at about 50 per cent, which is higher than in the cleaning industry. Children's Services also faces a problem in attracting and retaining staff. In the 10 weeks from January to March this year 90 children's services positions were advertised in the Canberra Times. These positions were across all levels and sectors of Children's Services. Of the 37 diploma graduates exiting CIT in 2001, only six have engaged in work in Children's Services. It is believed that the majority enrolled at the University of Canberra in order to complete a bachelor degree in early childhood education.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .