While many childcare workers in regional Victoria walked off the job today, for some workers in more remote areas with one childcare centre striking was not an option.
Across the country, crowds gathered in cities as more than 1,000 childcare centres shut down and thousands of early childhood workers protested over pay and conditions.
Kelly is a childcare administrator near the Victorian-South Australian border and she said,while many workers would like to strike, the community needed their services too much.
"Regional childcare probably has it the hardest," she said.
"Our communities will always come first and so will our children and families.
"Being so rural and remote it's really difficult. You'd have to close down your entire centre and that might mean you've got 15 parents who also can't do their job because they don't have care for their children.
"It's a lot of pressure when you're in small communities because you're holding it all together."
'Better off working at Woolworths'
Kelly said the childcare workforce was small and finding someone specifically qualified in early childhood was difficult.
"There aren't any other childcare centres close by and there aren't any childcare workers at the moment to backfill people or create enough support for the people that are in the field," she said.
She said the earnings did not justify the amount of study required to become an early childcare educator.
"[Young people] are walking away from something they love and are passionate about because they and their families are going to be better off working at Woolworths or Aldi," she said.
"The people who need us are the ones who need to stand up for us … we need the parents and our communities to open their hearts and voices and talk about what's best for us.
"We're the ones looking after their children and they're the ones that want us to provide that high-quality care and education for their kids, and when they start saying something that might help us to move forward."
Bendigo childhood educator Lisa Lansdown was one of 15 childcare workers from central Victoria who travelled to the city to advocate for better pay and working conditions.
"We have educators leaving in droves. What we are paid and our workload is not sustainable," she said.
"It's more affordable to stay home and not be in the workforce.
"We need the federal government to stand up and be accountable for this."
'Give us what we are worth'
The workers are calling on the federal government to outline a plan and a timeline that delivers on three key priorities for workers.
"Give us a reason to stay and pay us what we are worth, value early learning as part of the education system, and put children before profit," Ms Lansdown said.
Educators also wanted to see early childhood education recognised as part of the education system.
"Our vision for the sector is for educators to be valued with professional wages and working conditions," Ms Lansdown said.
An entry-level childcare employee is paid 47 cents above the minimum wage — at an hourly rate of $21.85.
The federal government has committed to a $5 billion reform that will increase subsidies to families using child care from July next year.
'No incentive to stay'
Jade Sumner has worked in childcare for a year.
She said there had been several times when she had not been able to take holidays due to the centre being short-staffed.
"Hopefully things change, otherwise there'll be no educators left," Ms Sumner said.
Regional childcare centres have reported increasing staff turnover over the past few years.
"You definitely get burnt out very quickly in childcare, you can't take your holidays," Ms Sumner said.
"There's no real incentive to stay."
Despite campaigning for better pay and working conditions, Ms Sumner said she loved the job.
"I got into childcare because I'm basically a big child … I still love it but I can see why a lot of people leave the industry. We just want to be taken seriously."
