Until the mid-1970s, the groups which dominated the child care debate were concerned mainly with claims upon the state regarding the provision of services– in particular with the availability, type, cost and location of services. From about this time, however, industrial aspects of child care provision became an additional focus of attention and trade unions began to emerge as important participants in child care debates and campaigns. In the period from 1973 to 1983, the relationship between the trade union movement and child care providers and lobbyists was transformed. The level of unionisation and political activity amongst workers in pre-schools and child care centres steadily increased, necessitating the negotiation of some formidable obstacles – from the deeply ingrained attitudes of service and voluntarism held by most early childhood workers, to structural impediments such as the isolation of workers in small centres and the fragmentation of union coverage.