Parents and workers in Newfoundland and Labrador have benefited tremendously from investments in early learning and child care since the introduction of the program in 2021. Newfoundland and Labrador parents are now paying less than a third of what they were in 2021, making it much easier for families to get by and provide for the needs of their kids.
Working families need Newfoundland and Labrador to be a strong advocate for the continued success and expansion of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program. CUPE NL remains ready and willing to work with government to ensure the program lives up to its original objectives.
As Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Paul Dinn heads into meetings this week with his federal and provincial counterparts from across the country, CUPE NL’s 6,600 members are calling on the Minister and Tony Wakeham’s PC government to:
- Triple provincial funding for early learning and child care to an annual investment of $130 million over the next five years to create more regulated child care spaces.
- Significantly increase wages for child care workers. The provincial wage grid should be bargained with workers and their unions, not unilaterally imposed.
- Ensure that Early Childhood Educators have pension benefits so that they can retire with dignity.
- Maintain restrictions on for-profit expansion and continue to incentivize for-profit operators to become non-profits.
- Allow the provincial government first right of refusal before the selling of any for-profit child care centre.
- Make further use of public assets like schools and universities to house new child care services.
Sherry Hillier,
President
CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador