Maude Lamothe, 22, and Naomy Lavoie, 24, are among the 13,000 employees of early childhood centers (CPE) on strike Thursday. With their colleagues from CPE Les Petits Mousses, they traveled to Brossard to participate in the demonstration to demand better salaries.
Our motivation is our love for children
confides Maude Lamothe, who is in her second year in the field. While she doesn’t see herself doing another job, Naomy doesn’t have the same opinion.
Even if I finished my studies, I might change my field for a higher salary because I can’t afford a house.
The 24-year-old educator began working in a CPE after finishing high school. Her love for children pushed her to have her skills recognized in order to become a qualified educator. She earns $19.80 per hour, while Maude, who is qualified, receives $22 per hour.
Staff retention is a fundamental issue in these demonstrations.
Unfortunately, the network of CPE is in danger, we are having difficulty attracting new talent
launched Stéphanie Vachon, representative of CPE to the Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN), in a press briefing on Thursday.
Working conditions must be improved, salaries are insufficient and we are not competitive with the public network, the school network and the primary education network.
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Naomy Lavoie and Maude Lamothe consider their work as educators to be a vocation.
Photo : - / Naomie Duckett Zamor
Chloé David and Annie Rozon are also educators at CPE The Little Mousses. They went to demonstrate, rattles and signs in hand, hoping for better working conditions.
We must encourage young people to study the profession that we do with passion and give them the desire to stay in our field.
insists Ms. Rozon. With 28 years of experience in the field, she notes the decline in working conditions in her profession.
The workload is no longer what it used to be, we need help!
she insists.
However, the two women who have seen several young educators change fields assure that love for children must prevail over the rest. The passion from the beginning keeps us going! Every day, we get up to take care of our little mosses
says Chloé David.
What you need to know
- 400 CPE affected
- 13,000 workers on strike
- 50,000 children affected
Source : FSSS-CSN
-Food services also impacted
Salary dissatisfaction and recruitment difficulties are the same for employees who are responsible for feeding children in CPE. This is what Jean-François Larose, food manager at CPE Joujou, in Beloeil.
Retaining staff is as difficult as in the case of educators. If you want to take time off, the CPE must deal with catering services because there is no replacement, says the man who has 15 years in the field. Many cooks do not want to come to CPE because of the low salaries.
Daycare food service employees may handle ordering, allergy management and kitchen maintenance. It’s a lot of responsibility for the salary we make
confides Mr. Larose, who earns $23.44 per hour.
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Jean-François Larose maintains that the responsibilities of food service employees in child care centers only increase over the years, in particular, due to dietary constraints.
Photo : - / Naomie Duckett Zamor
We do almost the same tasks as employees in hospital kitchens and they have higher salaries than us, he emphasizes. We would like to have a little fairness and more respect for the work we do with children, who are the future.
Mr. Larose says he was approached to work in other fields, which would have allowed him to have better salary and fewer responsibilities. He admits that he is considering changing careers if the pay does not improve.
Unsatisfactory offers
Demonstrations took place across Quebec on Thursday. More than 400 CPE were closed due to the walkout. The workers of the CPE affiliated with the CSN have given themselves a five-day strike mandate.
The representative of CPE at the Federation of Health and Social Services, Stéphanie Vachon, is urging the government to make an offer to its members. All we have on the table is 12.5% which was offered to us in May 2024. We have been negotiating with the government for eight months now, we want something more serious.
Without a satisfactory agreement, some experienced educators could choose to turn to other professions.
It’s certain that, in these conditions, I don’t see myself doing this all my life, confides Marie-Ève Charron, educator at the Aux Mille Jeux early childhood center for 10 years. I invite Ministers Roy and LeBel to come CPE to see our daily reality. […] This could move things forward so that we can continue to serve the parents who need us to go to work.
