Childcare workers demand better wages

[davidc4430]

Childcare workers demand Government intervenes to improve wages

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-25/childcare-workers-frustrated-over-low-wages/9575176

what these hard working people need to wake up to is

they hold true power

imagine if they all decided to stop working at once, the country would go into meltdown!

they should form a UNION and threaten, either they get paid a wage they can live on or they walk off the job.

remember they are the reason the bigwigs can work whilst their kiddies are safe and sound in care

[springyzone]

I've known a number of people who work or worked in childcare.

Some did the child minding, one did that plus she also did time as the chef or cook.

What surprised me was the fact quite a few of these people were doing courses that ranged over several years yet were on pay levels that were probably below someone working in a shop.

Just about anything to do with children is lowly paid for the simple reason it is often an industry dominated by women & they have been slower to join unions.

I know some unions go over the top in their demands but there needs to be a balance and from what I have seen time & time again (and across a wide range of industries too) is that if workers are not in any union, they are very vulnerable and some businesses exploit them.

People will scream-they will say-if childcare wages go up we won't be able to afford child care, the government should help out, pay, etc

Am I the only one who sees this whole situation as skewed? If the government needs to subsidise anything, perhaps they could subsidise mothers to stay home longer with their babies. Maybe if women were paid a certain amount for their first 2 children (and after maternity leave ended, it would not necessarily have to equal their past wage, but a minimum amount) and if it extended for 5 years, this would allow some women to raise their children to school age.

I think limiting it to 2 children (and I say this as someone with 3 myself) would be necessary to stop abuse of the system.

[davidc4430]

Its a difficult situation for sure. years ago (when i was a child, yes i still am) my mum stayed home and looked after the 5 kids.

and dad made enough money as a clerk to do that!!!!

he started as a fitter and turner and took an office job when it was offered. (better pay)

about what? 20 or 30 years ago the powers to be decided because 1 wage was no longer enough to raise a family on to get women into the workforce. i have no problem with women working but it created a new problem. with dad and mom now working to get enough money to raise the family, who will take care of the kids during the time they are working?

so Child Care developed, quite cheap at first. but of course as child care rules were developed so the training increased and the costs increased.

meaning now women were working just to make enough money to put the kids in child care....didnt see that coming did we LOL

so then women demanded (and rightly so) to be better paid. and womens wages got better (but not as good as mens sigh)

and now, we find people who decide careing for others kids is their calling are required to pass all sorts of tests and study to get qualifications ect ect. all need to be paid for of course.

and of course when a persons got all the passed tests and qualification they get shyte pay!

so i'm sure they will sooner (i hope) rather than later they will get much better pay, after all they are doing a job that allows our nation to function.

then the mums and dads will need better pays to pay the pays of the child care people and so the cycle will start.

personally i dont agree with any govt payments re child care or stay at home mums/dads.

as a single person with no kids why should i be paying for some other persons kids to be looked after so they can earn the money to have a better life?

maybe theres a good reason but i dont see it.

[debra9275]

I've always wondered why child care workers are so lowly paid when the cost of child care is so high... I get that insurance premiums would be high but as for other overheads??  I just can't see it

[enigmabear]

I started working in child care in 1994

After 5 years study my pay went up by about $3 per hour before tax

Much like teachers, most people seem to think we get all the resources we need paid for by our employer (ha) and that our day ends when the school/center closes (ha ha)

Apparently our job is to 'play' with kids all day (don't even get me started)

Back in 1998, I worked in a center that was open 24/7. Back then we not only played with the kids, we had the usual educational side of it plus cooked for them, bathed them (as you were allowed to back then) put them to bed,got them ready for school etc etc etc

And still every day we were told 'must be nice to get paid to play all day

Hmmmm hmmmmm

[debra9275]

I think it's similar in aged care too enigma.. the staff get paid very little for what they do and yet costs to people who use day car or aged care are astonomical... something is wrong somewhere 

[davidc4430]

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@debra9275wrote:

I've always wondered why child care workers are so lowly paid when the cost of child care is so high... I get that insurance premiums would be high but as for other overheads??  I just can't see it

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i think its because people who can handle these jobs will not go on strike for fear of hurting those they are looking after.

its the "If i'm not there who will care for (fill in the blank)?"

[springyzone]

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@debra9275wrote:

I've always wondered why child care workers are so lowly paid when the cost of child care is so high... I get that insurance premiums would be high but as for other overheads??  I just can't see it

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I know the cost of child care can seem high but if parents paid the true cost, let's say $20 an hour for wages, it would be $160 a day at least, possibly more. per child.

I know the staff work with more than one child but I have not included overheads such as facilities, food etc into that so it evens out.

My friend who worked as the cook did not like it as not only did she have to prepare meals but she was expected to write a report (for every child) with kilojoule/nutritional info on what was in every meal, how much each child ate etc

For those dealing with the children, they were expected to write a report for every child on activities engaged in, how the child coped with everything etc. Some parents wanted almost a 5 minute oral report back every night as a matter of course, in detail (not just a casual chat).

[springyzone]

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@davidc4430

personally i dont agree with any govt payments re child care or stay at home mums/dads.

as a single person with no kids why should i be paying for some other persons kids to be looked after so they can earn the money to have a better life?

maybe theres a good reason but i dont see it.

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I am not a big fan of subsiding child care but I think it becomes difficult when we are talking across the board because I do think people on very low incomes need support. I am not even talking unemployed but those who are what i would call the working poor.

I think we do need to support families in some ways as children are the future, but I also think we need to clamp the support at eg 2 children. If people want to have 5 or 6 then that is their personal business but it should not be up to a taxpayer to fund it all. Some help yes, unlimited help no.

The best way to help could be to allow income splitting, where a couple could use the wage of whoever was working, deem half of it to the other and so pay a lot less tax. (to apply while the couple has one of those first 2 children under 5 years of age).

People might knock that and say what about single mums? I think each case there would need to be assessed on merit but instead of child care subsidy, that mother might need a welfare payment with her wage till it rose to a certain level. 

Our taxes are to support society as a whole & we can't really be compartmentalising it and saying-I am single so I don't want any going to families. Same as I am a grandmother now with grown kids & i can't really say, that's it, don't want my money to child care as I will never use it. But it does need to be fair across the board, I agree with that.

I remember being absolutely shocked in 2014, my brother (single, no kids) was dying and very affected by brain & other cancers. He could not move & other things so needed round the clock care & help, yet we were told there are no places for people like him (under 60's).

We might talk about the need for childcare & it is a need, but what about the need for special accommodation for those who are disabled or sick but still young? There is nothing, which i find mindblowing.

[springyzone]

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@enigmabearwrote:

I started working in child care in 1994

After 5 years study my pay went up by about $3 per hour before tax

Much like teachers, most people seem to think we get all the resources we need paid for by our employer (ha) and that our day ends when the school/center closes (ha ha)

Apparently our job is to 'play' with kids all day (don't even get me started)

Back in 1998, I worked in a center that was open 24/7. Back then we not only played with the kids, we had the usual educational side of it plus cooked for them, bathed them (as you were allowed to back then) put them to bed,got them ready for school etc etc etc

And still every day we were told 'must be nice to get paid to play all day

Hmmmm hmmmmm

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Must reply to this. as it is not just limited to parents, there are some who should know better but don't.

My friend found exactly the same. She had to have a hysterectomy & the surgeon said to take it easy for 6 weeks, no lifting etc

But he only gave her a few days off work. So she went to her own doctor who gave her the week off and commented that it should be enough as after all, she was only in child care, she was probably just sitting down most of the time, watching the kids play. Nothing physically taxing.

She explained that no, her job was to set up the play equipment outside each day and that could be heavy, and she did have to lift children & would be expected to move around, not sit on a chair all day. Doctor was quite startled.