United Voice News
Childcare reform on the agenda
Childcare reform was on the agenda at a major conference in Sydney this month.
"One can never consent to creep when the impulse is to soar" (Helen Keller)
Experts presented their thoughts on reform of the sector at the Early Childhood Education Congress 09. A key speaker at the Congress was LHMU National Secretary, Louise Tarrant speaking about the BIG STEPS campaign.
Taking BIG STEPS to benefit children, families and the workforce in early childhood settings has been a driving commitment of LHMU members since the campaign’s launch last year.
Members’ claims for better conditions, pay, and support to up-skill qualifications are being heard at the highest level of state and federal governments. They are backed up by a strong and international evidence base familiar to professionals in the sector. We know that the best early childhoods develop in quality settings run by a well qualified, well remunerated and stable workforce.
Getting recognition for these skills has been a slow and dedicated slog for union members throughout the sector’s relatively short and dynamic history. We’ve had to face the challenges of childcare being viewed through the lenses of domesticity, ‘other-to-mother-care’, marketisation and corporatisation. We’ve ‘come a long way - with baby’ - but there's still some way to go!
Louise Tarrant spoke about taking into account four policy drivers that can ‘pull’ governments in conflicting directions:
• early childhood development,
• women’s workforce participation,
• a productive present (and future!) workforce, and
• improved equity of access and inclusion.
Despite the tough economic times ahead and because early childhood is not a repeatable process we can’t afford to get it wrong. Nor can we afford to sit back and watching professional skill sets drain away due to poor pay and conditions. Investing in early childhood now will certainly save governments money in the future.
The BIG STEPS Campaign is our opportunity to continue to hold our governments accountable to commitments to nationalise quality standards, up-skill staff qualifications and improve workplace conditions that impact on so many children, staff, families and communities.
