Released on January 5, 2006
Saskatchewan's Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) sector will receive $11 million to increase wages of individuals working in licensed child care centres, beginning with a retroactive six per cent wage increase effective November 1st, 2005.This money is in addition to the three per cent funding increase that was announced on April 1st, 2005, for early childhood educators as part of the initial steps toward a made-in-Saskatchewan system for early learning and child care.
"Our children need and deserve the best services possible," Community Resources and Employment Minister Joanne Crofford said. "People working in child care centres, and the time and effort they commit to working, teaching, and playing with our children, have a profoundly important role. Today's announcement will help address the immediate need to retain and recruit quality staff who work in child care centres in Saskatchewan."
The increase being provided consists of the six per cent increase effective November 1st, 2005, and a nine per cent increase effective April 1st, 2006. Government will work with the ELCC sector on a plan that will provide future direction on human resources.
The intent of the increase is to close the gap relative to other human service Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and improve the wages of the lowest paid front-line staff within the provincial licensed child care centre system. Each eligible non-profit centre will receive an additional $175 per month per staff dependent upon the number and type of licensed spaces as of November 1st, 2005.
In 2004, the average gross hourly wage for trained early childhood educators was $11.33. There are an estimated 1,200 child care centre employees in Saskatchewan who are expected to benefit from this increase.
A stable, well-trained workforce has been repeatedly identified by research as a key component of quality early learning and child care services, and it is expected that this wage increase will help centres recruit and retain employees.
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For More Information, Contact:
| Jamie Shanks Community Resources and Employment Regina Phone: (306) 787-4011 |