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Workplace Child Care Facilities
Work and Family Provisions in Canadian Collective Agreements
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A. WORKPLACE CHILD CARE FACILITIES
Very few major collective agreements in Canada include provisions regarding child care centres. In June 1988, only 21 major agreements (1.7% of total agreements) contained such clauses. This expanded slightly by June 1993 to 28 major agreements (2.4%). The percentage increased to 2.5% by January 1998, but this is entirely due to a reduction in the overall number of large bargaining units in Canada during that period (from 1,227 in 1988 to 1,078 in 1998). In actual fact, the number of collective agreements providing for day care facilities decreased by one, to 27. These agreements are mostly concentrated in the public sector, Crown corporations (i.e. Canada Post), universities and the automobile industry.
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Obviously, this issue has made little headway at the bargaining table in the past decade. This may be due, at least in part, to preoccupations over the cost, administrative complexities and potential legal liabilities involved in the establishment and operation of a child care centre.
However, the appearance, in a growing number of agreements, of joint committees to study possible child care solutions for employees might signal an increased interest in the creation of new programs and initiatives. Moreover, initiatives such as Quebec’s $5/day child care program and similar plans announced in British Columbia should have a direct impact on future negotiations; the allocation of substantial financial resources by these governments will likely serve as an incentive to establish more workplace day care centres.
The level of detail regarding child care arrangements in collective agreements can vary enormously. In some instances, contract language simply indicates a general commitment by the employer, or sometimes both parties, to establish and maintain a child care centre, either on site or near the workplace, with operational issues left to a joint union-management committee. In other cases, a child care clause may merely confirm the continuation of pre-existing arrangements (e.g. a previous employer practice or policy regarding child care). Nonetheless, agreements may include much more specific provisions, with items such as funding, provision of service, location of the facilities and status of child care workers spelled out in relatively explicit terms.
The variety of contract clauses concerning child care facilities is illustrated in the examples below.
| (05228) | Daycare facilities for Members’ children shall continue to be available during the term of this Agreement and the daycare centre will operate on a non-profit basis levying fees sufficient to meet its operating costs and liabilities. |
| (08331) | The University shall use its best efforts to provide personnel and facilities for the day care of at least twenty (20) children and after school care of thirty (30) children of Academic Staff Members aged from two (2) to eight (8) years at rates that shall not exceed 1.35 times the rates for full-time undergraduate students prevailing at the existing Council of the Student's Union Pre-school Centre. Such facilities shall be available from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays when the University is normally open. |
| (06676) | The Government will endeavour to provide child care services for its employees wherever possible. |
| (10090) | The Employer agrees to provide suitable space for Child Care within 12 (twelve) months of the signing of the Agreement.
The Employer further agrees to facilitate the operating costs of the Child Care facility through the contribution of two cents (2¢) per straight-time hour worked by bargaining unit employees. The money will be held in trust. |
The following clause and Memorandum of Understanding represent an excellent example of contract language regarding child care facilities; they constitute the most detailed agreement found on this issue. Originally negotiated in the 1980s, the Memorandum (Appendix G) has been renewed in subsequent rounds of bargaining.
| (05295) | The Employer agrees to maintain its support for the York University Co-operative Daycare Centre according to the terms of the attached Memorandum of Understanding (Appendix G).
The Administration further agrees to continue its collaborative efforts to define campus child care needs and to establish improved child care facilities at York University, including a determination of an appropriate level of university financial support for such facilities over and above that defined in Appendix G. APPENDIX G WHEREAS, the parties to this agreement mutually recognize the continued desirability of the provision of daycare services of high quality for students, staff and other members of the University; and, WHEREAS, the York University Co-operative Daycare Centre (the "Centre") continues to provide such services for and on behalf of the University Community; and, WHEREAS, the parties agree to the continued provision of the University facilities and support for the Daycare in pursuance of these objectives; THEREFORE, the parties undertake as follows:
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