42% of N.L. early childhood educators plan to leave the field. Low wages are driving the exodus

A new report from the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour says 42 per cent of the province's early childhood educators are considering finding a new job because of low wages and a lack of benefits.

The report released Thursday surveyed 520 educators, or ECEs. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents said they don't receive health or dental benefits through their work, 80 per cent don't have a pension, and 90 per cent don't know when they'll be able to retire.

"They feel like their workplace issues are not being heard, and that they play an essential role in our child-care system," Federation of Labour president Jessica McCormick said Thursday. 

"But they are facing working conditions that are really pushing a lot of them out of the field at a time when we need them so much."

In addition to benefits, McCormick said, ECEs also lack sick days. When they are sick, she said, there's often no one to replace them.

Fifty-four per cent of respondents said they would take stress leave if they could.

In a statement sent the morning after this article was originally published, the Education Department said, "As of April 1, child-care service providers participating in the operating grant program are able to schedule an additional five days of paid service closures to allow for more paid time off for their staff." 

The Federation of Labour report comes with child-care spaces in the province hard to find for parents. The province offers $10-a-day child care, but slots fill quickly, leaving parents with few options.

In a statement, the provincial government said it "is on track to create close to 6,000 child-care spaces by 2026."

It said there are more than 8,800 child care spaces operating at $10 a day or less in Newfoundland and Labrador, with 1,300 of them created since January 2023.

As well, the statement listed several financial initiatives to bolster ECEs in the province, including  $70 million allocated in the 2024 budget for the continuation of the ECE wage grid, a $5,193 bonus for child-care administrators, a $5,178 Labrador allowance for ECEs and administrators, and a $5,178 bonus for certified francophone ECEs. The department also noted ECEs can receive a $2,500 grant upon certification and recertification, up to a maximum of $7,500. Additonally, they say $2.7 million from this year's budget is going toward grants and bursaries for ECE students and professionals.

"The provincial government will continue to work with early childhood educators and key stakeholders, including the federal government, to determine how to enhance recruitment and retention initiatives for early childhood educators," reads the statement.

High demand 

McCormick said the province can't afford to lose ECEs to other provinces.

"We need about a thousand additional ECEs in the next few years to even just meet the demand that we have right now. And there are so much, a huge number of parents who are looking for those spots," she said.

"I think we need to do everything that we can to invest in good working conditions for them to keep them in the sector, and to recruit new ECEs to a job that is really a good job that they want to stay in for their career."

McCormick says investment should come through an increase to operating grants to allow operators to be able to offer benefits to educators. Nova Scotia announced wage hikes, benefits and a pension plan for educators in December.

The survey also recommended the province require and fund 10 paid sick days and daily lunch breaks through the operating grants and require and fund annual paid vacation.

It was a recommendation she said the federation made to Finance Minister Siobhan Coady in consultations leading up to the release of the 2024-25 budget, which she said provided little for the sector.

"They want to see government listen to what they have to say. It is clear that ECEs are feeling like they are being ignored by government," she said.

The province implemented a new wage grid for ECEs in March 2023, but the survey reported 31 per cent of respondents didn't see a salary increase as a result.

McCormick said the survey also expressed interest from ECEs to unionize, along with the desire to have ECEs become part of the province's public sector pension plan.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to expand $10-a-day child care, including an additional $60 million set aside for grants for child-care centres. Ottawa will also offer student loan forgiveness to rural and remote early childhood educators. 

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