EDUCATORS, not baby-sitters - that's the message early childhood educators sought to convey yesterday through a nation-wide walk off.

About 10 educators gathered with supporters at Lions Park in Gladstone waving placards asking motorists to honk to show support.

Karla Comber has been in the early childhood sector for 11 years and works at Kin Kora Good Start Early Learning centre.

"We need to make people aware that we're here fighting and we are serious," she said.

"People still believe we are just babysitters, they need to start recognising we are educators.

"We are setting children up for their best years of life."

Ms Comber said over the past decade the sector had professionalised.

"The government requested that (workers) are trained and ... (that we) follow the national quality standards and the Early Years Learning Framework," she said.

"We're meeting what the government has asked for. Now it's time for the government to turn around and give us what we are asking for."

The protesters, organised by the United Voice are asking the Federal Government to subsidise a wage increase of 35 per cent.

Shelly Holzheimer a life member of United Voice said parents pay enough for childcare and it was already unaffordable for many.

"The government must step up, Simon Birmingham (Minister for Education and Training) has to put his hand in his pocket and he has to find the money," she said.

"Any parent will tell you, the money they're paying for childcare, they're quite aware it's not all going into the pockets of the educators."

Phil Tolby an organiser for the Australian Manufacturing Worker's Union attended the protest, he said the requested pay rise of 35 per cent "should be higher".

"They're going through a struggle ... they shouldn't have wage restraints put on them by anybody," he said.

United Voice lost a long running court case in February.

They had argued that the underpayment of the sector was due to gender inequity based on the fact that about 97 per cent of workers in the childcare sector are women.