Childcare as election priority

Date: 31 March 2004

The Australian Government should tell delegates to a Global conference on Families and Work that they understand the importance of providing qualified and trained child care workers - and they are prepared to provide the funding to ensure quality childrens' services for Australian families.

MEDIA ALERT

RALLY to meet Child Care Minister

8am, Thursday April 1

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

" Child care union activists will be outside the Brisbane conference when the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Kay Patterson, opens the conference.

" We will be there to remind her that if she wants the Howard Government re-elected childcare must be a priority issue during the Federal election campaign," LHMU Chid Care Union Queensland Secretary, Ron Monaghan, said today.

Senator Patterson is scheduled to open the conference: Globalisation, Families and Work: Meeting the Policy Challenges of the Next Two Decades at 9am on Thursday April 1 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Ellen Nicholas, 26, will be one of the people holding up placards calling for child care to be a priority. Ellen is devoted to children and is training at the Charlton Brown College to get her diploma.

" I want the Minister to assure me that I can make a career out of working with young children. It is my passion; but it worries me that I can study for years and years but then end up for the rest of my life earning less than I'd make when I worked as a waitress or as a cleaner.

" Where are our priorities? We are devoted to the cause of children but because it is a profession dominated by women our nation does not seem to value it as much.

" This is even though child care professionals are involved in the most important developmental years of our nation's citizens," Ellen said.

Childcare union members will meet the Minister with huge two metre placards asking all MPs:

Running for election this year?

Childcare better be your priority

" She has to back up these promises by offering to support the increased wages needed to ensure we can attract trained and qualified people.

" At the moment many child care centres are having to run with untrained and unqualified staff because they just can't pay people the fair and decent wages need to get properly qualified workers.

"Extra child care places may sound good - but if we can't get the trained professionals to work in childrens' services then the Howard Government is hoodwinking the Australian community."

The LHMU proudly represents around 130,000 hard working women and men throughout Australia

For further comment and interviews:

- Ron Monaghan, Queensland LHMU Child Care Union secretary: 07 3016 2600

- Kerryn Leighton, child care worker activist and Union Organiser : 0408 766 35

- Ellen Nicholas, Childrens Services diploma student and child care worker : 0405 412 248

For further information

Contact:	Andrew Casey
Union:	Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union
Phone:	8204 7206
Fax:	92821 4480
Email:	andrewc@lhmu.org.au
WWW:	http://www.lhmu.org.au/

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