But, the centre did not close on Wednesday, as the majority of their families would struggle to make alternative arrangements and many younger staff can’t afford the time off work, Mrs Clear said.

However, Mrs Clear and her husband, who have operated the early education centre for 10 years, have opted to enter an agreement with their staff regarding a 2.5 per cent above award pay increase, as part of their recent fee increase.

The directors found they had the capacity to increase their fees and explained to families a percentage of the rise would be passed on to their staff’s wages.

The feedback from families was “nothing, but positive”, Mrs Clear said.

“We, as a business, feel this is the way to go as the government have injected so much money into the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and we don't feel they will be funding the industry in any other way at this time,” Mrs Clear said.

The Child Care Subsidy was implemented on July 2, 2018.

Mrs Clear said the early education centre wanted to support its staff who were the centre’s “greatest asset”. 

She acknowledged their staff’s pay increase was not as much as what the union was asking for, but the centre wanted to be proactive, without relying on potential government funding to top up wages.

“They work for me, they work these families,” she said.

“With experience and knowledge there comes a price.

“We aim to have more fee increases moving forward and we have informed our families that staff will receive part of this increase in the way of a pay rise to show our appreciation and support for their contribution and hard work.”