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Thousands of Quebec parents will have to find alternate child care on January 23, as 13,000 Quebec-run (CPE) daycare workers will go on a one-day strike in the province. Negotiations started in May of 2024, but daycare workers have been without a contract since March of 2023.
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Vachon says it’s not just about the salary, but also the working conditions. They’re asking for a more reasonable workload, better pay and more resources to improve the quality of services for children.
“Year after year, the government asks us more work, more perfection in our work, and it’s difficult to give the service, the quality of service that we want to give,” said Vachon. “But also we need hours to do pedagogical time. We need some help for the kids with special needs too. We need to have somebody coming and helping us like a specialized educator.”
Many workers quit to take jobs in the elementary school sector because the salary is 9 per cent higher on average, according to Vachon. “There is no reason for us to be treated differently,” she said. “We want more than 17 per cent, we should have 26 per cent to be treated equally.”
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