Helen Gibbons believes early childhood educators need to be paid more.
"There are about 320 centres that are closing today,from the east coast to the west coast,"United Voice assistant national secretary Helen Gibbons said.''In addition to that,many,many centres are closing rooms and sending delegations along to the various actions happening across the country.
''It's fairly obvious that this group of workers is masively undervalued and underpaid,''she said.''You think about the enormous responsibility that they carry,and that they are skilled professional educators ... and we are paying them as little as $21 an hour.''
Wages are paid from both parent fees and government funding,Ms Gibbons said,adding that any higher wages must come from the latter.''Childcare is already expensive,it is already a significant part of the family budget,and nobody wants to drive up parent fees because that just drives children out of early education.
''The only thing that can shift is government funding.''
Ms Gibbons said Australia spent .49 per cent of GDP on early education,compared to the OECD average of .81 per cent. Comparitively,New Zealand spent .91 per cent of its GDP on early education.
Minister for Early Childhood Education Jenny Mikakos backed calls for higher pay.