‘Big Walk Off’ has little impact on Toowoomba

‘‘ THE NATIONAL WALK-OFFS ARE ABOUT THE EDUCATORS. IT IS A PERSONAL CHOICE FOR EACH OF THEM.”

UNITED VOICE SPOKESWOMAN

IT WAS talked up as the nation’s “Big Walk Off”, but for Toowoomba childcare educators, it was just another day at work.

While 6500 early childhood educators from 300 centres across the country went on strike yesterday, the United Voice union told The Chronicle “Toowoomba educators have chosen not to walk off the job”.

A United Voice spokeswoman said many educators were showing their support for the campaign in other ways.

“The national walk-offs are about the educators. It is a personal choice for each of them,” she said.

The strike action came as a result of the Fair Work Commission in February throwing out demands by the union for a 35% pay rise.

At the time, United Voice assistant national secretary Helen Gibbons said the Fair Work Commission had “failed” the early childhood union.

Yesterday, she laid the blame for the “biggest early education walk-off in history” at the government’s feet.

“This is an escalating crisis, driving educators to walk off for the third time in 12 months and to close centres for the whole day,” she said.

“The government can’t keep putting their heads in the sand and allowing this pay crisis to escalate even further and driving centres to continue to close.”

National TV ads have aired since the action was announced on February 4 to raise awareness about the fight for equal pay.

The ads ask “why are our educators paid so little?”

Following the rallies, educators from across Australia will converge on Parliament House, Canberra this morning to take their message to the government.