Opinions on the funding program to increase childcare wages (workers or parents)

[2CheekyMonkeys]

Well yeah there is an award and you get paid the award but when I pointed out how there is a lot of unpaid work happening it was an example of how some owners expect work for free. How are they going to pay for this? Not by using some of their profits, ( which I feel they should). In pretty much all scenarios the bottom line is high in owners priorities. Some fees are incredibly high and I'm not sure where that money goes because they sure aren't paying staff for the extra work they do. I don't think families should pay full fees either. I think owners possibly being capped on what they can charge to minimize exorbitant profits and government funding is probably the only way staff will be better paid. And of course better pay and conditions equals better education and care for children. But it should be for everyone in every centre to make it fair.

By the way, I wasn't impressed with the union reps pushing for memberships either. Pretty much saying there needs to be 60% staff in union and it needs to happen today!! I agree its s good thing to have so many child care workers in the union but I think they were a little loose with the truth and applying a bit too much pressure.

[Floweryfields]

The union has disgusted me with their behaviour and totally turned me off them - even though I am a member. They insisted on seeing each staff member seperately when they easily could have addressed them as a small group - this I believe was because they could put pressure on a 18 year old without backup to sign up much easier than several of them together supporting each other. They made all of my junior staff sign the form there and then without any option to consider membership first.
And they straight out lied to me - I had LOTS of direct questions one which was ''if union membership is not compulsary in Australia, why are we forced to join to benefit from a government funded payrise' I got some total bs answer which was not the truth at all.
Fairwork Australia has issued a statement saying that membership in a union is NOT a requirement to get this payrise.

I also don't agree totally on the greedy owner comment - yes there are some out there who have multiple centres that make lots of money - but there are small ones like mine who don't make much at all.
BUT they are in business to make a profit - any other business has the right to make a profit - they pay their staff the requirement by law and make money - millions of businesses do that.
I do wish I was a not for profit centre - mainly because you can get so much funding from grants etc if you a deemed nfp which for profit services aren't able to. There is a kindy in my area which has less than 12 enrolments - they received $11 000 for new equipment at the end of last year $8000 from another grant for equipment and have just been approved for funding for significant renovations - additional rooms and a new kitchen. The teacher has told me they have so much equipment they will never use it all and it was hard finding things to spend the money on as they just have so much - (there is a pile of easel paper as high as the ceiling in one storage room and she said that's only half of it). When were talking 'greed' that seems like a pretty fine example to me!! Why not leave the funding for someone else to apply for if you have so much?

Yes nfp centres usually offer much more = they are better equipped and have lovely play spaces - all because they get so much free money to use - I doubt they'd have all of those things if the people running the centres were having to pay for it out of their own pocket.