Qualified early childhood educators earned as little as the half the average wage at $21 an hour.
United Voice has lost a five-year equal pay case after the full bench of the Fair Work Commission ruled on February 6 that they had failed to show early childhood educators were paid differently to men performing work of comparable value.
The unions had lodged a claim for equal pay for early childhood educators in 2013, on the basis the sector was 97% women and qualified early childhood educators earned as little as the half the average wage at $21 an hour.
United Voice said childhood educators would take "unprecedented" strike action across the country on March 27 to demand the government fund equal pay.
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