Early childhood educators' wage demand would be disruptive, says minister

P.E.I. Early Childhood Education Minister Jordan Brown would like to see wages increase in the sector, but says the $7 increase demanded by workers in French centres would throw the system out of balance.

The six French centres, all provincially funded and based in French schools in the province, are complaining they are losing staff to work as educational assistants in the schools.

The ECE workers are making $15.60 an hour, while the education assistants earn about $22 an hour. The early childhood educators are seeking pay equity.

But Brown said there are other issues to consider when it comes to pay equity.

In the English system only about a third of ECE centres are provincially funded, with the rest being in the private sector. Despite this difference, pay for educators and fees for parents are roughly the same in both private and public centres, said Brown.

"If you look to increase this wage [in the public centres] the ability for those different businesses to respond gets to be minimal," he said.

"If the wages go up over here, in order to keep things fair and to keep their employees they're going to have to boost the wages over there, which means an increased fee to parents, which means it's tougher for parents to access those options."

Brown said it is the province's goal to make early childhood education more accessible, not less.

Having said that, he added he would be advocating for an early childhood educator pay increase in the next provincial budget.

ECE staff in the French system are planning a series of rallies to draw attention to the issue, with the first on Saturday at cole Saint-Augustinin Rustico.

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