Ford government failing to deliver fair standards for child care workers as lock out continues and further strikes loom: CUPE

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As CUPE members at Ideal Child Services Group continue to be on picket lines for a fifth week after being locked out by their employer and workers at Start Right Child Care Centre stand on the verge of a strike, CUPE Ontario is calling on the provincial government to take responsibility for a child care system that relies on public funding but leaves workers fighting workplace by workplace for fair wages, benefits and pensions.

The potential strike at Start Right follows the lockout of workers at Ideal Child Services Group (ICSG), both represented by CUPE Local 2484. Workers at ICSG have been on picket lines since Oct. 5. Together, these disputes point to a broader problem: public investment in child care is not consistently translating into fair wages and decent working conditions for the people who deliver the service.

“Governments cannot say they are building a stronger child care system while leaving the workers who make that system possible behind to fight for the basics,” said Yolanda McClean, President of CUPE Ontario. “When federal and provincial dollars support child care, that investment must also support the people doing the work. Ontario needs enforceable sector-wide standards for wages, benefits and pensions, along with a meaningful role for workers and their unions in shaping the system.”

CUPE Ontario is calling on the provincial government to establish a fair wage floor, improve access to benefits and pensions, and negotiate a bilateral agreement with unions to set and enforce decent employment standards across publicly funded child care. CUPE is also calling for sectoral bargaining so workers can negotiate common standards across the sector, rather than being left to fight for improvements employer by employer.

“Child care workers do this work because they care about children and families, but they still need to pay their bills,” said Jess Tomas, President of CUPE Local 2484. “Our members have seen firsthand what happens when workers are undervalued and left to fight for fair treatment. The government has a responsibility to make sure public funding supports good jobs, and that child care workers can build sustainable careers without having to go on strike just to be heard.”

Child care workers are essential to making the system work. When wages and working conditions fall behind, workers are pushed to leave the sector, making it harder to recruit and retain the experienced workforce children and families depend on.

CUPE says the provincial government must move beyond promises about expanding access and affordability and ensure that public investment strengthens the entire child care system, including its workforce.

“Ontario has an opportunity to build a child care system that works for families and workers alike,” said McLean That starts with fair standards, meaningful bargaining and accountability for how public funding is used.”

-30-

kl/cope491