07/11/2023
The government pats itself on the back bragging about all of the new childcare spaces it is creating, but there are not enough ECEs to staff existing spaces. It brags about all of the money it has spent on bursaries to train new ECEs, but students are taking the free education and using it as a stepping stone or as a back up plan and many are not even entering the field upon graduation. Why? Because the work is demanding and the pay is abysmal. Centres cannot pay employees more unless they increase parent fees. If you opt into any of BC's child care funding there are limits to what you can charge or how often you can increase fees and by how much. It's time for the government to step up so we can provide families the care they need and deserve and so our ECEs can afford to do the work we are called to do.
In 2021, B.C. committed to developing a wage grid for ECEs that would improve recruitment and retention in the profession. More than a year later, that grid is nowhere to be found.
