April 12, 2021
As an owner/operator of a daycare centre and after school program, I am adding my voice to the call for equal compensation for all early childhood educators in Nova Scotia!
It has been a very difficult few years trying to retain staff since the pre-primary program started in schools. I have lost numerous valuable employees over the last three years. They left to work in the pre-primary program because of better wages, paid sick days, summers off and other benefits.
I am hoping that the provincial government will provide adequate funding that will stabilize the child care sector. Early childhood educators in centres do not get the same compensation as those working in public schools, even though they do the same work and have the same qualifications.
Daycare centres are needed for all the families of children who are too young to attend the pre-primary program, but I feel that daycare centres will not survive without trained individuals to provide quality child care. Centres need a certain percentage of trained staff and all centres are finding it difficult to find and retain qualified individuals.
I can’t afford to lose any more of my hard-working employees to the public school system. Please help us now. We are depending on you!
Effie Vincent
Owner/Operator, Ponderosa Play and Learn Children’s Centre
Antigonish, NS
See also: Letter: Early Childhood Educators left with debt and fear of poverty
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A very unhappy outcome of pre-primary, one that should have been predicted.
It is not fair that some Early Childhood Educators get paid substantially less with just as much or more education doing just as hard and sometimes a harder job with less resources.
You are so right Effie! Daycares cannot survive /keep quality, well trained staff because they cannot possibly compete with the wages and benefits being offered in the schools. There needs to be equality! So unfortunate. I can personally speak to the quality of care your daycare provides. (The very best care! 10 years you and your staff were part of our family, caring for our four children.) I hope you and all the daycares get the support you need and deserve!
Karla & Chris Chisholm
The pre primary program was rushed in and not thought out. It was about securing Liberal votes.
As Chair of the St. Martha’s Regional Hospital Foundation, the two barriers to attracting professionals to our region are housing and daycare. The hospital recently missed out filling a key position in the Lab Department because they could not find either. We recently contributed to the establishment of a Community Navigator who will help with the recruitment and retention of physicians and she has identified lack of day care spots as a major concern.
As an ECE I am lucky that the daycare I work for has been able to manage some incentives to retain employees. But speaking honestly it is no where near the benefits and compensation for ECEs that hold pre primary positions.
As a single mother of a child with disabilities, i could benefit from the compensation. But I have chose to stay, as I feel at home where I work.
I just hope the governement will see the light and make adjustments.
Equal pay for equal work…and ungoing fight.