This is an update for Early Childcare Educator (ECE) members. 

Last May, we announced an important step taken in the acknowledgment of the quality care and learning early childcare educators provide. As you might recall, our union negotiated a one-time funding plan into the Community Social Services Bargaining Agreement (CSSBA) to address the fact that you were excluded from the government’s Early Childhood Educator (ECEs) Wage Enhancement initiative, which saw other ECEs, outside of the public sector, get a $2/hr top-up last year. 

“The Incentive Benefit for Unionized early Childhood Educators (ECEs)” has not only put more money into the pockets of hardworking ECEs like you but also created greater equity within the public-sector and across the entire childcare sector. This initiative was set to end this spring; however, we’re pleased to share the good news that it’s now being extended to the last pay period of October 2025, so you will continue to receive Incentive Benefit wage enhancements for another several months.

To see what your top-ups under the Benefit Incentive agreement are, find your current place on the wage grid and then look to the column on the right: this number represents the hourly-wage bump that the employer is applying to all hours paid at straight-time rates. The benefit will continue to be paid in bi-monthly installments as lump sum payments: 

As a reminder: these payments were determined on a sliding scale, which means the lowest paid workers will receive the higher amount to address bigger inequities, while others may be looking at smaller increases because you are starting from a different place. 

Read the full Letter of Understanding stipulating the terms and conditions of the Benefit Incentive agreement here. 

Pushing for a Permanent, Standardized Wage Grid

While this news will surely offer some of you some much-needed financial relief until the fall, our union knows that this initiative is not enough. We need a legally-binding, standardized, permanent wage grid that covers all ECEs (regardless of your employer or the level of government funding they receive), and that compensation needs to match the value that you bring to your communities.

In the same way that BC is pushing to make childcare affordable to parents, the province must commit to making early childcare education an affordable career path for workers. That’s going to take more than short-term agreements.

In Solidarity,

Andrea Duncan, 
BCGEU Vice-President Community Social Services & 
Chair of the Community Social Services Bargaining Association

Ryan Stewart
Chief Negotiator, CSSBA
Staff Representative, BCGEU Negotiations Department 

UWU/MoveUP