VANCOUVER – Rosanna is a childcare worker in Vancouver and a member of CUPE Local 1936. She works as part of a team providing before- and after-school care for a non-profit childcare provider, and feels honoured to be a part of inspiring children to discover themselves.
Helping children build their inner strength, courage, and confidence through play-based learning is what fuels Rosanna’s drive to work in the childcare sector. She is passionate about the need for families to have access to high-quality, affordable childcare, and frequently hears from parents desperate for childcare programs like the one in which she works.
Rosanna wants childcare workers to be treated fairly for the contribution they make to the community, and this means fair compensation and support. She points out that recent funding to address low wages for childcare workers was not distributed fairly, and wage increases went only to those with formal certification.
Low wages in the childcare sector have created a shortage of childcare workers to support existing spaces, and there are not nearly enough workers to staff a full system of universal childcare. Rosanna points out that having long serving and experienced childcare workers excluded from fair pay leads to workers leaving the sector, and makes staffing shortages worse.
The Need for a Universal Wage Enhancement
Wage enhancements for childcare workers need to be made universal, and applied to the many experienced and long-serving workers in the sector who do not have a formal education. This workforce, composed predominately of racialized women, is a key component of B.C.’s childcare system, and neither existing spaces nor the new spaces the B.C. government hopes to create can exist without their work. It’s time to ensure that childcare work is fairly compensated and that workers are treated equally, and with respect.
More About Childcare Month
May is Childcare Month and CUPE BC will be celebrating the amazing work by members who provide this vital public service in communities across B.C. Please enjoy our features about CUPE members and the passion they bring to their work and learn more about our campaign to build the best possible system of childcare for British Columbians by visiting the Public Childcare Now website.
