You are what you say you are The IEUA NSW/ACT Branch has recently completed the long running Equal Remuneration Orders (ERO) Case in the Fair Work Commission and is awaiting its decision, IEUA NSW/ ACT Industrial Officer Michael Wright reports. A review of the Educational Services (Teachers) and Children’s Services Awards was also undertaken last year, which focused on the early childhood sector. In both of these significant cases, the central focus was on the knowledge required of, the skills used and the functions undertaken by early childhood teachers (ECTs). In the ERO case alone, the union provided evidence from 34 early childhood teachers and/or experts in the early childhood sector. Including the evidence from the employers, some 900,000 words were uttered 18 | Bedrock | issue 1 | Vol 25 | 2020
or written in the case, mostly about what you do on a day to day basis. What became apparent in both cases was the importance of the language used to describe the work of ECTs. The
“ECTs don’t crowd out children with their own ego, unlike other (mainly male dominated) professions (and some for profit child care operators) who can’t wait to tell you how fantastic they are.” case also highlighted the capacity of some of the for profit operators to try and use language to devalue the
skills and role of ECTs, with a view to resisting any claims for equal (or even adequate) pay. Different lenses The skills utilised and the roles performed by ECTs are seen through many different lenses. While the vital contributions of the ECT are slowly bubbling up into the public discourse, your average person does not have knowledge of the skills utilised and the roles performed by ECTs. They instead rely on broad descriptions such as ‘that’s such important work’, ‘you must be an angel’, etc. The hard graft and complexity of the role, including the intellectual endeavour and motivational skills required, are not fully appreciated. Partly, this is a function of the gendered nature of the work and its
