Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Tyrrell, for your interest in this matter. I take it from what you've said that you are supportive of what the government is doing and that is very welcome to see. I'm sure you, like all of us on this side of the chamber, agree our early childhood education and care workers have been grossly undervalued in their pay rates over many years. They obviously perform incredibly important work for families, for children and for our economy as a whole because of the important education and learning they impart on our kids from a very early age, and that is why our government has agreed to a 15 per cent wage rise over two years for early childhood education workers across the country.

As you have indicated, over the last couple of months a number of departments, including mine and the Department of Education that I represent here, have been working with employers and employer groups on the implementation of this policy. There has been some excellent progress made around the industrial arrangements that need to be reached to qualify for this worker retention payment. But I would certainly be happy to talk further with you about any concerns you are receiving from any employers who are finding that process difficult.