Ontario early childhood educators still waiting for promised 2024 wage increases
Ontario Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) are still waiting for their promised 2024 wage increases and advocates say the delay is causing stress for workers and contributing to the ongoing staffing shortage.
In November 2023, the Doug Ford government pledged to increase the minimum wage for RECEs to $23.86 an hour, a nearly $4-bump from what they were expected to get that year. The new wage floor would be implemented in 2024, officials said at the time, with additional $1 raises implemented every year until 2026—at which time they are supposed to make $25.86 an hour.
However, staff have yet to see any of the additional money they were promised.
“I think overall, what this has just reinforced for us, is that this isn't a priority for Ontario,” Alana Powell, RECE and Executive Director at Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario, told CTV News Toronto in an interview Friday.
Powell said that when the announcement was made, it felt like the government was suggesting that staff could expect to see wage increases on their January pay cheques.
Instead, the government appears to be slowly fulfilling its promise.
In a March memo sent to municipal service managers, the government indicates the new wages went into effect on Jan. 1. However, the memo goes on to say they expect cities to flow the cash to child-care operators by the end of April.
Additional provincial payments to those service managers, however, aren't expected until the summer.
“Starting in June 2024, payments to (service system managers) will include the incremental funding related to the 2024 workforce strategy allocation, with an initial lump sum payment to cover funding requirements from January to June, with the remaining funding to be paid monthly after this,” the memo says.
Powell noted there is confusion over the timeline and when RECEs will actually get their paycheques.
“The promise of it being retroactive is good,” she said. “But in terms of life and planning and affordability, waiting and the uncertainty of it has been really stressful.”
“We even saw last week an early childhood educator started a GoFundMe to help pay her bills because she’s struggling that much and she’s certainly not alone.”
When asked by CTV News, the government did not provide an explanation as to why the wages have been delayed, saying only that the process takes time.
“We appreciate that these payments must get out as quickly as possible, that is why we are working with municipalities (service system managers) to ensure all eligible RECEs receive their full back pay in wage increases,” a spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s office said in a statement.
A position paper suggested last year that Ontario early childhood educators were among the lowest paid in Canada, and advocates warned at the time this could create a “perfect storm” amid a workforce shortage.
Ministry officials have warned Ontario could be short at least 8,500 RECEs by 2026 as the province adds more child-care spaces under the federal program.
Carolyn Ferns of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care said in October the workforce crisis was causing local childcare programs to close rooms and limit enrollment. She told CTV News Toronto this week that she was a big supporter of the government’s promised wage increase in the fall.
“That was supposed to come in 2024 and … I had child-care workers like RECEs emailing me in January, saying ‘why isn't this on my paycheck.’”
“I think everybody thought it was gonna start like this year,” she added. “(The wage increase) is a big difference. That's something that you're really counting on.”
The increase applies to RECEs working in child-care facilities who opt in to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, which will eventually result in an average fee of $10 per day for parents with children under the age of six in licensed child care by September 2025.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Independent stores and grocery alternatives see sales boost amid Loblaw boycott
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
London judge rejects Prince Harry's bid to add allegations against Rupert Murdoch in tabloid lawsuit
Prince Harry can't expand his privacy lawsuit against The Sun tabloid publisher to include allegations that Rupert Murdoch and some other executives were part of an effort to conceal and destroy evidence of unlawful information gathering, a London judge ruled Tuesday.