Plants worth more than our children?

Date: 15 May 2000

People who deliver nursery plants are better paid than the child care workers who deliver our children onto the first rung of a life of learning and development - a child care union delegate grumbled today outside the NSW Industrial Relations Commission offices

A noisy, lively and enthusiastic rally of child care workers has underlined a union campaign for a genuine pay increase for more than 10,000 NSW child care workers in community-based and private centres.

Child Care Union delegate Claire Gurney explained why she had joined this rally: " I am here to protect existing conditions for child care workers because they are in jeopardy. We risk losing our rostered days off, paid lunch time, and face temporary contracts. We haven't had a pay rise since July 1997."

Child care workers are unfortunately among the lowest paid workers in Australia with most of this workforce paid at or near the bottom child care rate of $399.80

Maggie Scott, another Child Care Union delegate at the rally was most upset at how poorly rewarded she and her colleagues are: " We're rallying for better conditions for all staff at child care centres. We want the public to know that people who deliver plants in nurseries are better paid than us. It is just not recognised that we are the first stage of a child's education."

The Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU) represents child care workers in the community and private sector in NSW.

Sonia Minutillo, the NSW Executive Vice-President of the LHMU, said today : " It is quite unprecedented to get this group of workers out on the streets telling the community that they have real complaints about their pay and conditions. This rally was organised by child care workers eager to have their voices heard outside the Commission today.

" I suspect it is a measure of the frustration in the industry where employers are only prepared to give a small pay rise if the workers give up

For further information

Contact:	Andrew Casey
Union:	Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union
Phone:	9281 9511
Fax:	92821 4480
Email:	Andrewc@lhmu.org.au
WWW:	http://www.lhmu.org.au

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