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order to remain competitive, it is argued that greater access to resources enables nonprofit
centres to pay higher salaries; this enables them to recruit and retain staff with
higher levels of related education. However, the study found that even when the playing
field is leveled in terms of all centres’ access to resources, commercial centres as a group
continue to pay lower wages and to hire teaching staff with lower levels of education
(Doherty et al., 2002).
The sample used by You Bet I Care! (2000) included 531 (62.6%) non-profit
centres, 293 (34.6%) commercial centres, and 24 (2.8%) centres operated by
municipalities. Eligibility to participate in the study was restricted to centres that provide
full-time services (at least six consecutive hours a day) for children in the age range of 0
to 6 (and may also serve older children).When the report considered purchasing power or
the amount of goods and services assistant teachers’ salaries will purchase, across all
centres, their wages actually decreased between 1991 and 1998 in Manitoba, New
Brunswick, and Quebec; wages remained almost the same in every other province except
British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The purchasing power of teachers’ salaries also
decreased in Manitoba as well as in Newfoundland, Labrador and Prince Edward Island.
It remained basically the same for teachers in all other provinces, again except in British
Columbia and Saskatchewan (Doherty et al., 2000).
The low wages in child care translate to some living close to, or in, poverty.
Twenty-six percent of assistant teachers and 28.7% of teachers reported that they rely on
their salary to cover 80 – 100% of their total household costs. The 1998 gross annual
salaries for assistant teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador was $12,852 and $13,639