It irks Wollongong early childhood educator Sarah Larkin when people say she has been nothing more than a glorified babysitter for the past 16 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And her blood boils when politicians go on the radio and tell the nation educators are only “needed for mothers who wish to return to the workforce”.
That’s why the Boombalee Kidz educator had no hesitation in joining a number of her Illawarra colleagues in walking off the job at 1pm on Wednesday.
They then caught a bus to Sydney to join hundreds of their fellow educators at a rally at Martin Place.
In doing so, the “fed up” educators took part in the largest walk off held by early educators in Australia, with 7000 protesting their case.
The action marks the fourth time educators have had to walk off the job in 18 months to say “this government has ignored and failed educators by not funding equal pay”.
“We need to get this government to listen and start paying attention,” Mrs Larkin said.
“We feel we deserve more pay for the job that we actually do. We play a very important role in the children's lives.
“And we don't feel we get enough recognition for it. We get seen as babysitters, which is not fair.”
Mrs Larkin was particularly “peeved” to hear a politician say on national radio on Wednesday morning that those in her profession shouldn’t be called educators.
“He said we are only needed for mothers who wish to return to the workforce, which is so untrue,” she said.
“For example I’m going on maternity leave in a couple of months but my daughter will still stay in early education because it is more beneficial for her to be at school rather than home with me.
“She will learn a lot more and she will be stimulated and challenged a lot more.
“She was only four months old when she started preschool. It was so beneficial for her. It will be the same for my second child.”
Early childhood educators earn between $21-$25 per hour. The national average for similar professions is $41 an hour.
Mrs Larkins feels being a female-dominated industry has not helped educators get paid what they deserve.
“I feel if there was more males in the industry, they wouldn’t be putting up with what we put up with,” she said.
“We are losing a lot of good people because they aren’t getting paid what they’re worth.
“It is time to address this imbalance. We are a skilled workforce who deserves to be recognised for the work we do looking after and educating children we think could one day rule the world.”