The Farmyard pre-school principal Fiona Dawson agrees wages are a problem.
“I have always run between 98 and 99 percent qualified teachers because I worked hard on my qualifications and I value the time and effort the guys and girls have put in and that should be recognised,” said Mrs Dawson.
“That's one of the reasons why I've struggled trying to run this place and the bank manager never loves me.”
The teachers spoken with say the real issue is the lack of pay parity with kindergarten teachers.
Kindergartens are funded, like schools, through the Ministry of Education.
ECEs are run as not-for-profits or privately, but still get funding from the government.
They came on the scene in the second half of the 20th century as the need for childcare grew when it became more common for both parents to work.
Kindergarten teachers have pay parity with primary school teachers and negotiate a collective agreement with the Ministry of Education.
Other early childhood services do not.
By negotiating a collective agreement, kindergarten teachers secured a top pay bracket of $90,000 by 2021.
Not-for-profit and private childcare organisations argue they do the same work, the staff have the same qualifications, yet are paid less than their kindergarten colleagues.
The early childhood centres The Herald spoke to had, or were close to, -100 percent qualified teachers and are feeling short-changed.
They say because qualified teachers in ECE services receive low pay, the pay gap between untrained staff in the sector and qualified teachers is getting smaller and smaller as the minimum wage goes up.
“We have teachers who have spent four years training and have worked for years,” said Mrs Purdie.
“They pour their heart and soul into looking after our children and it's just not recognised, I find it heartbreaking.
“We have to make this industry attractive to young people coming through because they come in here and say ‘oh great and how much does it pay?'”
The answer: Not much when compared with other teachers.
Last year teachers union Te Riu Roa New Zealand Educational Institute said on average early childhood teachers outside of kindergartens earned 23 percent less than other teachers with the same qualifications and experience. In some cases the gap was up to 49 percent.
“Pay parity and a fully qualified workforce need to go hand in hand,” said NZEI representative Virginia Oakly.
“Without the 100 percent funding, it is too easy for unscrupulous employers to reduce the number of qualified teachers working with children to maximise profit, impacting on the quality of care and education our children receive.”
There was some movement towards pay parity last year when the Government gave a $151 million boost over four years, raising the minimum wage for qualified ECE teachers.
This brought the minimum salary for all qualified ECE and Barnardos teachers in line with their kindergarten counterparts to a base rate of $49,862.
“In terms of pay parity there has been a fight for it for a long time,” says Sarah Henstock, tumuaki/pedagogical leader at the community run, not-for-profit Gisborne Community Early Education Centre/Te Whare Tiaki Tamariki.
“We're hoping that they are going to ensure that happens, but you know how long is a piece of string? We don't know when that is going to happen.
“The 100 percent funding rate is being reinstated, which is great, but there is still a fight for pay parity,” she says..
“They're our colleagues, they're part of our ECE community and they are paid at a higher pay scale.”
“Our teachers do the same work as what our colleagues do but they are not receiving the same rate.”
Sarah says pay parity would mean teachers would stay longer in the profession and it would be better for the children in the long-term.
