Update on Early Childhood Educator Funding

An earlier CSSEA Info advised the membership of the BC government’s initiative to help bolster recruitment and retention for front-line Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) by funding a $1-per-hour wage increase retroactive to September 1, 2018, and a second $1-per-hour wage increase in April 2020.

Since releasing the bulletin, CSSEA has fielded a number of inquiries from members seeking clarification of some aspects of the Initiative. We have been involved in discussions with members, the government and unions to facilitate a better understanding of how the initiative is to be implemented for non-provincially and provincially funded ECEs (whether covered by the CSSEA collective agreements, local agreements, or non-union arrangements).

CSSEA will continue to seek clarification of these implementation issues and will issue a follow-up bulletin as soon as possible, once we receive more information from MCFD. We appreciate that this is a time-sensitive matter and encourage members to meet the application deadline for the wage enhancement, which is on or before December 31, 2018. More information, including Funding Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions, can be found on the government’s ECE webpage.