CUPE tells feds to protect the promise of affordable public child care
CUPE has written to Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu with a clear message: Canada’s child care system is one of the most important public programs in a generation – and it’s at serious risk already.
In a letter sent earlier this month, CUPE National President Mark Hancock and National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick expressed how the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program has already made a real difference in the lives of millions of families. Fees are coming down, wages are improving, and families are finding real relief. This is what happens when governments listen to workers and invest in care as a public good.
Let’s shine a light on early learning and child care
Workers in early learning and child care do crucial work. They help our children develop important social and cognitive skills, and access to child care enables parents to play an active role in our communities.
However, working conditions in the sector don’t reflect the expertise of child care workers nor the value of the services they provide to our communities.
The time has come to shine a light on early learning and child care, and improve working conditions in the sector.
Sign the petition to demand the federal government immediately fund a national workforce strategy and work with provinces and territories to improve working conditions in the early learning and child care sector and to address the workforce crisis. That strategy should namely provide fair wages, extended benefits and access to a pension plan, professional development opportunities and paid preparation time.
