CUPE demands immediate federal action on child care workforce crisis

OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was on Parliament Hill today calling for a national child care workforce strategy.

CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick and members of the union’s National Child Care Working Group delivered thousands of petitions to Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, and Anna Gainey, Secretary of State for Children and Youth.

Thousands of child care workers and their supporters signed the petitions demanding that the federal government immediately fund a national workforce strategy and work with provinces and territories to improve wages and working conditions for child care workers.

“We’ve seen incredible progress in bringing down child care fees recently, but waitlists are growing,” said Rennick. “Poor wages and working conditions make it impossible to recruit enough workers to deliver child care to every family who needs it.”

The average hourly wage for an early childhood educator in Canada is under $25. Few have access to a pension and many don’t even have health and dental benefits. Since the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care plan was introduced, some provinces and territories have taken steps to improve wages and benefits - but they are still far too low.

“We need the federal government to make demands of provinces on wages and working conditions like they did on parent fees,” said child care worker Jennifer Chase, who co-chairs CUPE’s working group. “If they did, many more of us could stay in the profession to provide the quality care families deserve.”

During the meeting, CUPE emphasized that they hope to see dedicated funds in the upcoming budget to boost wages and benefits.

Ministers Hajdu and Gainey received the petitions and thanked CUPE members for sharing their stories. The Ministers stated that child care is key to a strong and productive Canadian economy and agree that funding child care is a nation-building investment.

“Today’s petition delivery and meeting is just the beginning. Early learning and child care workers are the backbone of this system, and they deserve fair wages, benefits, and respect for the critical work they do. We look forward to working with the federal government to build a strong national workforce strategy that supports workers, families, and children across the country,” said Rennick.

The agreements that the federal government signed with provinces for federal funding under the Child Care plan expire in just over six months. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario have still not signed extensions to their agreements.

About the Campaign

CUPE’s “Let’s Shine a Light on Early Learning and Child Care” campaign aims to raise awareness about the expertise of the child care workers and challenges facing the sector and to mobilize support for meaningful change. The petitions highlight the need for better wages, benefits, pensions, professional development, and paid preparation time for the workers who provide these essential services. CUPE represents 12,000 child care workers across Canada.

About CUPE

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada’s largest union, with 750,000 members across the country. CUPE represents workers in health care, emergency services, education, early learning and child care, municipalities, social services, libraries, utilities, transportation, airlines and more.