More than 1500 preschool teachers, directors, educators, parents, children and supporters rallied in Sydney, Lismore and Coffs Harbour on 15 October as part of the Start Strong, Pay Fair campaign, calling for long-overdue pay rises for preschool workers.
Members heeded the union’s call to shut community preschools for at least half a day to attend the rallies. Dressed in bright pink, they called on the NSW government to provide funding to boost the pay and conditions of teachers and educators in community preschools who are paid up to 30 per cent less than their counterparts in schools.
The IEU called the Day of Action after the NSW government rejected the union’s proposal for more funding for wage rises in the sector despite more than 12 months of bargaining in the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
The IEU’s ambassadors – Melinda Gambley, Margaret Gleeson, Janene Rox, Jodie Cox, Bridget Isichei and Raelee Smith along with IEU officers– have worked tirelessly to represent the interests of colleagues in early childhood education and care at the FWC as part of the supported bargaining process.
But the NSW government sought to withdraw from the bargaining process in July and has refused to increase funding to community preschools to address the systemic and growing workforce crisis.
Community preschools under threat
Sydney’s Martin Place was a sea of pink as speakers lined up to highlight the workforce crisis that threatens the viability of community preschools because of inadequate pay.
Speakers also criticised the state government’s refusal to take responsibility as the main funding body for community preschools in NSW.
The rally was covered extensively in the media – on radio, evening TV news bulletins and newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph. NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman issued a media release in support of the campaign for better pay and conditions.
Clunes Community Preschool director Melinda Gambley was featured on 7News telling the rally in Martin Place: “We cannot keep our quality programs if we cannot keep our skilled and expert workforce.
“We cannot attract new people to the preschool sector on the current wages and funding,” she said.
Cronulla Preschool director Janene Rox said staff in community preschools were paid “far less than they deserve”.
“They are underpaid, undervalued and overworked,” she said.
Rox also told the rally that one-in-five educators are planning to leave the sector in the next 12 months. This will only exacerbate the workforce crisis.
“Let’s be clear – it is not just about wages,” she said. “It’s about value. It’s about respect, and it’s about giving community preschools the support they need to open their doors, retain their amazing teachers and educators and provide consistent quality care to families right across NSW.”
Unsustainable workloads
IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews told the rally that current rates of pay for teachers and educators in community preschools were not sustainable.
Matthews also criticised the NSW government’s proposed $100 million scheme for converting preschools into long day care services..
“Let’s spend money on the core issue, which is proper pay and conditions for teachers and educators in preschools,” she said.
After the rally, Matthews was interviewed by ABC Sydney Afternoons presenter Kathryn Robinson about why union members had closed their services to attend rallies in Sydney, Lismore and Coffs Harbour.
Matthews said preschool staff faced unsustainable workloads, including mounting paperwork that mostly had to be completed outside work hours.
“There’s been real problems in attracting and retaining staff,” she said. “There are problems filling vacancies now. There’s a real concern this will get worse.”
A number of politicians also attended the Day of Action, including Upper House Greens MP Abigail Boyd, who told the Martin Place rally that teachers and educators in community preschools deserve to be paid fairly.
Boyd said she was “truly honoured to stand alongside hundreds of community preschool teachers and advocates outside Parliament today and support your demands”.
Thank you to each and every person who showed up today – including the many teachers who rallied across the state in your local communities,” Boyd said.
The importance of community preschools in rural and regional areas was demonstrated by the attendance of several Nationals politicians at the rally, including Shadow Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell.
“I think it’s pretty desperate and a bit of a cop out from the government to try to pretend that [community preschools] are flush with cash and don’t need this support,” Mitchell told The Daily Telegraph.
“These are not-for-profit, community-run services. Largely, the committees that are in charge of them are local community people and parents, and they invest every dollar that they have back into the quality of those services.
Next steps
The IEU and our preschool ambassadors will be back in the Fair Work Commission on Monday 24 November, making the formal case for fair funding. In the meantime, we will continue to advocate for you in NSW parliament.
Want to help?
Use our new ‘Share your story’ tool to discuss your experience with community preschools and the impact of poor funding – the good, the bad and the ugly. By sharing your experience, you help shine a light on the impact of unfair funding and workforce shortages. Your story is powerful and helps strengthen our collective call for change.
Image Gallery: Sydney Day of Action
Image Gallery: Lismore Day of Action
Published in the November 2025 edition of Newsmonth.
This update is part of the November 2025 EXEC Extra enewsletter. Stay across all our updates for early childhood teachers on our ECEC page or via our Facebook community group for members only.
