N.S. announces wage hikes, benefits and pension for child-care workers

Early childhood educators in Nova Scotia will be able to enrol in group benefits and a pension package for the first time starting next year and they will also receive another long-awaited wage increase, the province announced Wednesday.

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Becky Druhan told reporters starting April 1, it would be hiking hourly wages for ECEs working in provincially licensed and funded child-care centres and family home agencies by about $3.14 to $4.24, depending on their level of education and experience.

Beginning in May, ECEs will also be eligible for group benefits administered by the non-profit Health Association of Nova Scotia, and a pension plan administered by the CAAT Pension Plan.

According to information supplied by the department, Nova Scotia taxpayers will be paying the employer's contributions to both plans: $12.3 million a year for the health plan and $8.8 million a year for the pension plan.

Once they're enrolled, ECEs will contribute five per cent of their pay to each plan. Full-time child-care workers will see between $66 and $124 deducted for the new health benefits each paycheque, and another $80 to $100 for the pension plan.

Raises set to take effect April 1, 2024, will offset those new deductions.

"It ended up being that the raise will cover the majority of those costs," said Pamela AuCoin, the Education Department's executive director of early learning and child care.

Family home providers, meanwhile, will be given grants by the provincial government to source their own benefits and up to $1,500 to reimburse employee contributions to RRSPs.

Affordability is 'crucial,' minister says

"We heard from the sector that balancing affordability while implementing a health benefits and retirement plan is crucial," Druhan said in a news release. "We heard, we listened, and now we are delivering."

Druhan said Wednesday the changes are further proof the province is committed to making the field more attractive to young people entering the workforce.

ECEs have previously spoken out about earnings that have fallen below the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' standard for a living wage in Nova Scotia, and in some cases, being unable to afford child care for their own children.

The low wages have also made it a challenge for child-care centres to keep workers and hire new ones, even as demand for more spaces has grown.

Amanda Reyes, a veteran ECE at Needham Early Learning Centre in Halifax's north end, said Wednesday's announcement has been a long-time coming.

"Being part of the working group, I feel like we really were listened to," she said. "One big thing that I kept mentioning over and over again was affordability, so I feel like with the rate wage increases, this will really help the affordability of the pension and benefits."

Even though she has worked eight years at a centre that has provided her with health benefits, Reyes is keen to switch to the new benefits provider because it will provide better coverage.

She said she and her co-workers would also benefit from the new pension plan.

"I think it will be great," she told reporters. "It's something that we've always talked about, just having the security of a pension when we retire.

"For me, personally, it's always been something I've really, really hoped for."

Higher wages

After a three per cent increase earlier this year, ECEs had been earning between $19.67 and $25.12 an hour. With the increases coming this April, the province says wages will now range from $22.91 to $28.78 per hour for level 1, 2 and 3 ECEs, and up to $34.54 an hour for ECEs in leadership roles.

The province says it will also fund a one-time retroactive contribution to employee pensions, representing five per cent of their earnings back to Jan. 1, 2024.

Beginning in January, ECEs will also have access to an employee and family assistance program through Telus Health.

According to the province, approximately 3,000 ECEs and 300 employers are affected by Wednesday's announcement.

Liberal MLA Braedon Clark called the measures good news, but worried that Nova Scotia lagged behind other provinces in reducing parent fees to $10 a day, a key part of a deal the province signed with the federal government in 2021.

"Other provinces, the majority of provinces and territories now have reached $10 a day daycare," said Clark. "P.E.I. is going to get there in the next couple of weeks and we aren't going to be there for at least two years."

Druhan said the province was moving "as fast as we can" to meet that obligation.

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