14 NovFair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022

Posted on 14 Nov 2022

ELAA has submitted recommendations to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee on the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill 2022.

This Bill introduces a number of important changes for employees, employers and the way the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector conducts bargaining agreements. With our sector leading expertise in industrial relations and bargaining, ELAA’s submission outlines the success of the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement (VECTEA), demonstrating that bargaining across multiple parties can occur and has been successful.

The recommendations ELAA made were:

  1.  That you support the Bill and note the beneficial impact of multi-enterprise bargaining in early childhood education in Victoria; multi-enterprise bargaining in its current form has enabled exemplary outcomes for a historically low-paid early childhood education and care sector with co-funding by government as an essential element. ELAA welcomes this Bill, as it will significantly enhance the functionality and opportunities for multi-enterprise bargaining.
  2. That you continue to urge the Minister to consider funding not-for-profit peak bodies to ensure small employers can voluntarily engage in bargaining. This Bill will allow a higher proportion of ECEC employers within the sector to have their interests represented in negotiation.
  3. That you consider the benefits of the supported bargaining stream and the benefits in ensuring that the government as a key funder is included in bargaining negotiations. 4. That you note that the passage of the legislation alone will not lead to higher wages in ECEC. As the primary funder of ECEC, government co-funding is imperative to securing higher wages and better conditions to ensure families can have ongoing access to affordable, quality early childhood education and care. Given the growing workforce crisis, and brake on the economy caused by a lack of access to ECEC, it is imperative that the government invest in supporting wages and conditions commensurate with the school sector.

To read the full submission, please CLICK HERE. 

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