Twenty-three early childhood educators at Munro Academy Early Learning Centre in Sydney Mines, N.S., are threatening to strike Monday unless their employer agrees to provide full-time work hours, according to Unifor.
The workers have been without a collective agreement for more than a year despite three days of conciliation, said the union. Negotiations broke down when the employer refused to provide 40-hour work weeks, leaving educators with fewer hours and less pay than workers at nearby daycare centres.
Dispute centres on work hours
The employer wants to reduce weekly hours for educators, which would cut their pay and reduce vacation and pension contributions compared to other Cape Breton daycare workers, according to Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray.
“This employer is trying to get by on precarious work that does not live up to the child care agreement between the federal and provincial governments,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “It’s long past time that early learning and child care work was treated with the respect and compensation it deserves.”
The Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement sets hourly wages for educators based on full-time hours, according to the union.
Strike could disrupt child care
The newly certified Local 4600 unit has been in a legal strike position for several days but has delayed action hoping to reach a deal, said Murray.
“We have exhausted all other options at this point to try to avoid a strike, including a lengthy bargaining process, conciliation, and reaching out to provincial and municipal government officials,” Murray said.
Unifor represents workers at three other Cape Breton daycare centres, all of which provide 40-hour weekly schedules for educators, according to the union.
Union calls for government intervention
Murray said the Nova Scotia government should remind the centre that new federal and provincial funding should eliminate the need for reduced scheduling practices.
“We’re building a better child care system, so it’s time to get on board with a new normal and provide consistent fair pay for ECEs,” she said.
Unifor represents 320,000 workers across Canada’s private sector, according to the union.
