Neil Mitchell says Labor’s plan to increase childcare worker wages is unfair

Yesterday Labor leader Bill Shorten announced a $4 billion dollar plan to increase the wages of childcare workers by 20 per cent, and reduce childcare fees for families.

Neil Mitchell has slammed the Labor proposal, saying raising wages for childcare worker is unfair on other low paid workers.

“The rest of private enterprise doesn’t get this,” he said.

“It’s a matter of fairness. I agree they’re very badly paid but there are a lot of industries where people are badly paid, including aged care.”

The 3AW Mornings host said the proposal is bypassing the industrial relations system.

“What the government is doing here is busting through the industrial relations system,” he said.

“The other industries will line up and say, ‘well why shouldn’t we get it too?”

Neil said raising the wages of workers in the primarily female industry is “good politics.”

“It looks good, whereas giving money to aged care workers and workers in the disability industry doesn’t.”

Helen Gibbons, Assistant National Secretary of United Voice, the trade union for childcare workers, welcomed the proposal.

“The only way to address the enormous inequity of the $22 an hour that most educators earn is to do something about the funding,” she told Neil Mitchell.

“This solution for early education is good for children, it’s good for the workforce, and really importantly it stops parents being made to foot the bill in order to see their educators paid properly.

This is the only way that we can deliver a fair and stable workforce in this sector.”

Press PLAY below to hear Neil’s interview with Helen Gibbons, Assistant National Secretary of United Voice.