The Albanese government will fund a 15 per cent, $3.6 billion pay rise for childcare workers over the next two years on the proviso their employers agree to limit fee increases until after the election, and accept longer-term, union-negotiated pay deals for their workers.
The move seeks to dampen cost-of-living concerns ahead of the next election as well as build a sizeable workforce in the sector, which is essential if Labor is to achieve its stated aspiration of delivering universal childcare.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Labor leader Chris Minns. The government argues subsiding childcare wages has an indirect productivity benefit. AAP
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who outlined that aspiration before the 2022 election, said the 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood education and care workers would be delivered as a 10 per cent pay increase starting in December, and another 5 per cent from December 2025.
To be eligible for the government-funded pay increase, childcare operators must agree to limit fee increases to no more than 4.4 per cent over the next 12 months, starting on Thursday.
With the election due by May next year, this guards against larger increases in childcare costs between now and polling day, and is in addition to the $5.4 billion boost in government-funded childcare subsidies that began last year.
