The Wire

The receivers of ABC learning centres have announced that 400 centres are unviable and may have to close. So how will this affect the staff? ABC has some 12,000 childcare workers – 40% of whom are working in the so-called unviable centres. While their wages have been guaranteed – at least until the end of the year – it’s a different story for entitlements such as sick pay, holiday pay, long service leave and super. Totalling 31 million dollars, staff entitlements are now considered an unsecured debt. Annie Hastwell asked Sue Lines, Assistant National Secretary of the Childcare Union, how staff were feeling.