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A child care SOS was sent out from the rain-soaked steps of the Manitoba legislature building this morning from both daycare workers and parents worried the province's system is in danger of crumbling.
As the crowd grew to more than 200, speakers took turns at the microphone to tell stories of their concerns and to send a message to Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh.
"He needs to beef up and speed up his plan to build a strong child-care work force," said Pat Wege, Manitoba Child Care Association executive director.
"You have heard today from the crowd, we are all on board with the new five-year agenda but the problem that is pervasive right across this province is that employers… can't find the people they need to work in the existing licenced spaces so they are very worried about expansion. So we are here to deliver a message loud and clear that the minister has to rethink his plan for a stronger child care work force because it is too little too slow."
The The MCCA backs the Doer government's plan to fund 6,500 more child care spaces over the next five years. However, the MCCA says there currently aren't enough workers to staff existing daycares, let alone an expansion plan. For instance, in Winnipeg, 26 per cent of licenced child care programs don't have the trained staff required by law, the MCCA says. In some rural areas, the shortage is as high as 68 per cent.
Wege said school divisions are also luring away trained child care workers with better hours and better pay. She said child care workers are paid about 20 per cent less than those with comparable skills and training.
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- reprinted from the Winnipeg Free Press