Manitoba's daycare centres struggle to keep staff with some wages lower than retail

MJ Farrow feels helpless. Some of her child-care workers could earn a higher wage in retail, and there's nothing she can do about it.

"When I can have a staff say to me, 'I can go work at Shoppers Drug Mart and make more money than I can working in daycare,'" Farrow said she is left dejected.

She's triedto convince two employees at her Stars of Promise daycare in northeast Winnipegto get more training, but they don't see the point.

"They told me: why would I do this when there's no money in this field?" Farrow said."Why should I come out owing $10,000or more in student loans, and get peanuts $15.50 [an hour]."

WATCH |MJ Farrow says daycares are struggling to make ends meet:

Hands tied over paltry wages

5 years ago

Duration 0:56

A daycare centre in Winnipeg is struggling to make ends meet due to stagnant revenues, while expenses increase annually.

Poor wageslike an employee of 20 years making around $20 an hour is onesetbackfacing non-profit daycare centres in Manitoba.

On Wednesday, the Child Care Coalitionof Manitoba released a report card on a child care system it says is worsening.Assalaries remain paltry, the waiting list for available spaces is growing and fewer low-income families can afford it.

Push for universal access

These arebig blows to a sector already reeling from aprovincial grant that's been stagnant since 2016, and by having parent fees capped by the province since 2013.

"If thisgovernment truly believes in their mantra of 'cradle to grave ofManitobans' then a robust and effective child care policy is part of this," Brianne Goertzen, a coalition member,told a news conference Wednesday.

At her 64-space daycare on Concordia Avenue, Farrow insists the status quo from government isn't sustainable. She wrote to government officials earlier this year as she struggled to make her budget work.

"It's really hard when you're cutting everywhere and you can't give a raise increase of more than one per cent because you just don't have themoney," Farrow said, referring to an aged stove, washer and dryer she cannot replace.

To find money, her daycare has resorted tocontinuousfundraising. They sellchocolates and chips. Theyhawk hot lunches twice a month. They ask for donations of toys and clothes.

"Everybody keeps telling us we're supposed to have quality care, and I don't understand how we can have quality care," Farrow said.

One employee, Carrie Hamelin,has a side business of making cakes so she can get by.

"A lot of times we're considered babysitters but, I mean, I would love to get a babysitter wage," she said. "Ten dollars a kid an hour, that's awesome."

Child care advocates say the sector is starved for funding. The coalition's report card concluded thatManitobais performing at a worse or comparable level than it did in2016 innumerous categories,from availability of spaces to the rate of new builds.

The report noted more than 16,000children were on the waiting list at last check, higher than the over12,000 kids in 2016.

It also said the percentage of low-income families who receive a subsidy has slipped from 23.7 per cent in 2016 to 17.2 per cent in2019.

Goertzensays the answer to theseproblems areat the government'sfingertips.

The NDP released a report in 2016 that proposed scalingparent fees based on income, and adding thousandsmore child care spaces but the main thrusts of the report were never acted upon.

Instead, the Progressive Conservatives, which were elected that year, embarked on theirown review that focused on the funding model. KPMGwon the contract in 2019 after signing a non-disclosure agreement.

"Ifwe already havesomething on the books, why would we begoing to KPMG at this point in time, and why would we be making sure that this contract was private and confidential?" Goertzen said in an interview.

Cost dependent on income

She worries cost-cutting will take precedence over improving the daycare system.

Goertzen holds the previous NDP report in high regard. It sought ways to createa universally accessible child care system available to anyone who needs it.

The report pitched higher wages and a sliding scale for daycare costsfamilies below the median income would pay less than 10 per cent of their income toward child care.

The document also seta course for the government to realize its promise of building 12,000 additional child care spaces.

It suggested stand-alone preschool centres on school propertyas well as spaces in post-secondary institutions and new Manitoba Housing propertiesas possible options.

Waiting list was 16,000-strong

The province had 16,000 kidson the waiting list for child care spots, but the government removed the list from its website last year because it consideredthe estimate inaccuratesince it included 1,000spacesfor children who hadn'tbeen born, the province said last year.

The Tories promised in the 2019 election toencourage more home-based daycareand boost funding for thosespaces. The Progressive Conservatives pledgeda$500-per-month subsidy for 3,000 lower-income families to use for whichever child-care choice they see fit.

In a statement, the province said itfunded more than 2,270 new spaces since2016, with another 1,600 new spaces expected by the end of the fiscal year.

The new reviewwill be released this spring. It will assess the effectiveness of current operating grants,parent fees and wages.

It will also provide"recommendations on the implementation of a new portable child care benefit for families to support accessing the child care of their choice," Families Minister Heather Stefanson said.

She said the Tories' review is distinct from the report from the former NDPgovernment, "which did not consider other innovative options for providing child care."

NDPchild care critic Danielle Adams said the province needs to ensure non-profit daycare centres are viable.

"With the freezing [of grants], which is essentially equated to a cut, it makes it harder for daycares to operate. It makes it harder for them to maintain staff, which ultimately makes it harder for them to provide child care for families in Manitoba."

WATCH | Ian Froese's report:

Daycare centres struggle to keep staff

5 years ago

Duration 2:28

Poor wages like an employee of 20 years making around $20 an hour is one setback facing non-profit daycare centres in Manitoba.