The action shut down about 100 childcare centres across the state, with parents asked to keep their children home and join in the rally if they could.

The United Workers Union says the sector is in “crisis” with qualified educators paid as little as $24 an hour leading to chronic staff shortages, amid claims some private centres are putting profits above children.

Staff are calling for better pay and conditions and to be recognised as educators alongside teachers.

Modbury Community Children’s Centre was among dozens around the state to shut down.

It opened in the morning but closed at 1pm for staff to take part in the rally, backed by parents.

Director Mira Ghamrawi said all staff rostered on today – about 17 educators – were taking part.

“We want to raise awareness about what’s happening in the sector – our sector has been struggling for a very long time, ” she told InDaily.

“Staff are leaving.”

Modbury Community Children’s Centre director Mira Ghamrawi at today’s rally at Parliament House. Photo: United Workers Union

Ghamrawi said her centre paid educators above award rates but has had to increase parents’ fees in order to do so.

“It’s getting really hard on families because our income is the families’ fees, so in order for us to pay our staff more and what they’re worth, it’s putting pressure on families,” she said.

Ghamrawi said many educators were “struggling to make ends meet” financially and they needed recognition alongside teachers for the their important work.

“The first five years of a child’s life is fundamental for their development,” she said.

“Children don’t start learning when they start school, they actually start learning from the time they are born. So unless we actually put value into that part of their education and development, we are not going to see positive outcomes in schools.

“That’s why the Government needs to look into how important our role is and put emphasis on keeping staff in the sector.”

An educator with 13 years’ experience, Ghamrawi is now considering leaving the sector even though it’s her passion.

She is in her second year of a psychology degree at university “because I can’t just continue to sacrifice for any more years – I’ve got a mortgage myself and I’ve got bills to pay”.

“If I have to keep living pay cheque to pay cheque I just can’t continue like this,” she said.

“It’s a very rewarding job but it’s not in a financial way.”

Parent Alison Allan had to work today but kept her three-year-old son home from Modbury Community Children’s Centre to support the cause.

She enlisted the help of her mother-in-law to care for her son.

“I fully support the staff,” she told InDaily.

“The educators are a very important part of our lives. It’s very hard to be a working parent.

“The idea of leaving your child with just anyone is very scary – the staff we have at Modbury are fantastic, they’re really passionate.

“We want the Federal Government to step up and overhaul the whole sector so that we value early learning.

“If we can’t get people to look after our children there’s a lot of people that can’t go to work.”

As an example of the inequity, Allan, who is chairperson of the centre’s governing council, pointed to a time during the pandemic when schools were provided with air purifiers but she said childcare centres were not.

“We’re talking about all the kids that are below vaccination age and not having access to this,” she said.

Across the country, hundreds of centres were registered to close as part of the national action, with thousands of educators taking part, impacting an estimated 70,000 families.

Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly said she had met with early childhood educators and carers from across the country and would continue discussions “to gain a deeper understanding of the issues faced by the sector and developing solutions to help us recruit, train and retain a high-quality early childhood education and care workforce”.

She said fees for centre-based care had risen by more than 40 per cent in the past eight years.

“We have a plan to deliver a stronger early childhood education workforce with a secure pipeline of workers,” she said.

“We’re increasing the number of university spots, bringing forward fee-free TAFE places, updating the Fair Work Act to give more workers access to the benefits of bargaining and taking action to close the gender pay gap.“Our early childhood educators make an important and unique contribution to the lives of our children and Australian families – it’s vital we rightfully recognise the workforce as educators, not child minders.

“Supporting and growing the early childhood education and care workforce is critical to delivering our landmark cheaper child care reforms, ensuring more children can access important foundation years education and boosting workforce participation, particularly among women.”