IEU continues campaign for better preschool pay

The NSW/ACT Branch of the Independent Education Union (IEUA) has continued momentum in the Unite for Change campaign in New South Wales, using new supported bargaining provisions to improve pay and conditions for teachers and educators.

Launched in April, the campaign is focused on a substantial pay rise for teachers and educators in community-based preschools in NSW and hopes to address longstanding workforce issues in the sector.

The union is making use of industrial relations reforms passed in 2022 by the federal Labor government. Under new provisions, the supported bargaining stream was introduced, which allows individual preschools to bargain together as a group. 

Over 100 preschools are participating in the bargaining process for a single multi enterprise agreement. 

Central to the campaign is the notion of reflecting work value, and sees the union, the employer and the NSW government coming together to address pay and conditions for preschool teachers. 

For the campaign, the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch and preschools have initiated a process with the NSW government to fund pay rises that reflect the value of the work of preschool teachers and educators. 

On July 5, IEU members and officials gathered at the Fair Work Commission to file an historic application and show their support for the campaign. 

“A successful outcome would be a game changer, IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews told the media in attendance at the time. 

“Community preschools are crying out for teachers — their work has been undervalued for far too long and this must be fixed.” 

In Ms Matthews’ opinion “inadequate salaries have contributed to an acute staffing shortage.”

“In other states and territories, community-based, not-for-profit preschools receive considerable state government support,” she said, outlining the union’s call for a 25 per cent increase for beginning teachers in preschools and more for their experienced colleagues. 

Under the applicable modern award, beginning preschool teachers currently earn $70,045 a year while the top annual rate for experienced teachers is $90,134. 

Preschool teachers in most other states and territories, she continued, earn comparable wages to their counterparts in primary and secondary schools, leaving a gap of up to $30,000 for many in NSW. 

“It doesn’t make sense,” IEU member Janene Rox said when addressing the media at the Fair Work Commission.

Ms Rox is a teacher-director at Cronulla Preschool, and made a comparison with those in the medical profession. 

“Paediatricians are not paid less because they specialise in supporting younger children, so why are we still differentiating between teachers?”