“We all know that childcare is a field that you go into because you love it, and not because you’re looking to make a lot of money. I feel like that’s an inside joke in the childcare field. To make the ends meet while I was working as a classroom assistant, I got a second job. I worked with a beer company to earn extra money and make ends meet, something that was fun and easy and took very little training to do. So I had two jobs, both wildly different.
But my work in the childcare centre definitely required much more of me. The really ridiculous thing was that I made $5 more per hour (before tips) to serve beer then I did when I was entrusted with 10 toddlers’ wellbeing. There’s something very wrong with that picture. If you look at our current government though, I guess it makes sense. This government is so busy spending millions on breaking contracts with The Beer Store so they can put beer into corner stores and making it “more accessible”, they conveniently have no money left to fund our hospitals, our educators and especially no money to put into our childcare. It’s more than just frustrating. It’s insulting.”
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What Sydney has experienced is far too common. We know the work of early childhood educators is valuable, and we know that our current market system does not always provide decent work and pay for educators. This is not good enough. We need to do better for children, families and educators. The Federal government announced plans to build a national child care system, and we need to raise our voices to ensure decent work is at the core. Ontario needs this. Children, families, and educators deserve this.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup