Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to get wages moving in feminised workforces like the early childhood education and care sector and why is this needed?

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question and for his continued commitment to see the wages in feminised industries lift. You won't hear anyone on this side of the House say that deliberately keeping wages low is a centrepiece of our economic agenda. This government went to the election with a commitment to lift wages, and, in just five months of being in office, we've already made progress to get wages moving.

We've supported the Fair Work Commission to lift the minimum wage, including the Children's Services Award, by 4.8 per cent. We've committed to decreasing the gender pay gap across a number of industries, including early childhood education and care, where over 90 per cent of workers in that sector are women. We're strengthening the ability of the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for low-paid, female dominated industries. We're establishing two expert panels: a pay equity panel and a care and community sector panel. We're expanding access to multi-employer bargaining. All of these will help to lift the wages of early childhood education and care workers.

But I'm asked why is this needed? For one thing, we know that for too long in this country those industries which are female dominated have been undervalued and overworked. I commend the Minister for Aged Care and the work that she has done on increasing the wages for aged-care workers. It is a demonstration of this government's commitment to pay equity for the feminised sectors like early childhood education and care.

Again, why is this needed? I would like to take a moment to give the example of why multi-employer bargaining works and why it's necessary—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hear them over there all groaning and moaning, but you might want to listen to this example about why it works for early childhood educators and workers in your electorate. In Melbourne we have the example of a group of 70 not-for-profit early childhood education and care centres who bargained together for a multi-employer agreement covering all of them. Through that process that agreement set a minimum of 16 per cent above the award. They have the best conditions for long day care in Victoria. That's what multi-employer bargaining helped to achieve for these early childhood education and care workers. Under current laws it is too cumbersome. We need to change the laws. Only one government will deliver higher employment and better employment for early childcare workers and that's this side of the House.