Early childhood educators and child-care professionals are getting a raise, the Ontario government announced Monday.
“This investment is recognition of the vital work that early childhood educators do every day in Ottawa and across the province,” said Yasir Naqvi, the Ottawa Centre MPP.
The $1 per hour wage increase for eligible child-care workers starts this month, with another increase to be implemented next year, according to a press release by the Ontario government.
The wage increase for Ontario’s child-care workers was included in last year’s provincial budget by Premier Kathleen Wynne.
The incentive for the wage enhancement is to close the gap between registered early childhood educators and licensed childcare providers as stated in the press release.
“It will help us retain valued caregivers and help ensure quality frontline services for our children,” Naqvi said.
All child-care centre professionals and staff are eligible for the wage increase if they’ve been working at licensed daycares as of Jan. 1, 2015. Licensed private home day care providers are also eligible, but they must not earn more than $26.27 per hour.