October 22, 2020 – Today, OSSTF/FEESO celebrates the 20th annual Early Childhood Educator and Child Care Worker Appreciation Day.
This year’s theme, Rising Up, is a call for government action on expanding public and not-for-profit child care facilities, and supporting decent work with better wages and better working conditions.
“Early childhood educators in Ontario’s kindergarten classrooms play a vital role in the education of our youngest children in the publicly-funded education system,” said OSSTF/FEESO President Harvey Bischof. “It is unfortunate that the Ford government continues to devalue their role by failing to commit to having an early childhood educator in every kindergarten classroom in the province.”
“These front line workers in education are providing invaluable services and are playing a key role in keeping Ontario’s economy going during the pandemic. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing government cuts have made this a very difficult year for early childhood educators and child care workers. We want to see these workers be valued by the current government and other employers,” concluded Bischof.
OSSTF/FEESO is committed to calling for better working conditions and higher wages for these dedicated workers. We must support safe, not-for-profit, public child care spaces for our children to learn and to grow. Today, we ask all Ontarians to join us in celebrating the many, important contributions that early childhood educators and child care workers bring to our children and our communities.