Greens call for the Government to step up, as UWU survey reveals children’s safety and wellbeing at risk

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson for education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has urged the government to address the crisis in early childhood education and care, amid findings that children’s wellbeing and safety are at risk with severe staff shortages. Senator Faruqi has called on the government to step up and fund pay rises, and ensure better working conditions across the sector. 

A survey conducted by the United Workers Union, across 1000 childcare centres, shows the desperate need for permanent, experienced staff and sufficient educator to children ratios. The survey found two-thirds of respondents believe staff shortages have affected the wellbeing and safety of children, and nearly a quarter believe the safety of children was “at risk”. 

Senator Faruqi said:

“This is the cost of government inaction. Labor has sat on its hands despite warnings from the sector and now the staffing crisis is so deep that children’s safety is at risk. This is unacceptable. 

“The urgent and expanding staffing crisis in early childhood education demands immediate government action. 

“Labor’s tinkering around the edges will not fix a system that is falling apart and failing families and children. They need to lift educator wages, fix conditions and deal with the critical workforce shortage in early learning and care. 

“Staff need to be paid professional wages and have secure, long term jobs. 

“The results of this survey show the damning effects of privatisation, casualisation, lack of funding and low pay for staff in the early childhood education system.. 

“The sector is clearly collapsing and the government is too slow to fix it. Fees are rising faster than inflation, educators keep abandoning the profession and families are spending years on waitlists for understaffed centres. 

“Staff need to be paid more and wages increased far higher than the measly increases we have seen recently. 

“Most importantly, early childhood education and care should be free and universal if we want to provide our children with the best possible education.