Gina Smith, who has worked as a nursery nurse for more than 20 years, argues that nursery nurses have lost out under the single status agreement and many have been forced to work longer hours to keep the same pay.
She told Nursery World, 'If I get over 100 signatures, the Prime Minister will have to respond.'
Pay and conditions for support staff vary from one local authority to another, which means that some nursery nurses and teaching assistants can earn several thousand pounds less than their counterparts in neighbouring areas.
Ms Smith has already collected 900 signatures for a petition calling for a national pay structure, which she sent to education secretary Alan Johnson last summer.
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