With four children under 5 at home, the Vasquez Hernandez de Repentigny will perhaps be the most affected family in Quebec if a strike is called this Thursday in their childcare center.
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“Our case is quite exceptional,” says Johanna Vasquez, a Quebecer by adoption, with a laugh.
His triplets and his fourth son – Thiago, Rodrigo, Ignacio and Diego – all attend the same establishment, which will walk out from Thursday.
Right now, parents’ plan is to telecommute and hope to “survive” the grueling days if the conflict is not resolved quickly.
The couple from Venezuela regret not being able to count on their extended families to serve as caretakers for a day, but against bad luck they do well.
“My triplets will go to school next year, but the workers will stay with the bad conditions if nothing changes,” said the 30-year-old in solidarity.
Saved by Facebook
A single mother in Quebec on the verge of despair will finally be able to count on the help of an acquaintance lost to sight since high school to have her child looked after.
“She does not know him, my boy does not know her, but she responded to my cry from the heart on Facebook,” says a Patricia Boucher indebted.
In the absence of a babysitter and after having used up all her vacation, she had to resolve to take unpaid leave last week so as not to abandon her Milane, 2 years old.
$ 150 to $ 200 per day
A couple of entrepreneurs have no other choice but to spend hundreds of dollars a week for the duration of the strike in a childcare center.
“There are days when I go to work and make 0 $,” sighs Émilie Carrière, owner of a clothing store in Laval.
She and her husband are extending from $ 150 to $ 200 per day – depending on their schedules – to have their children aged 2 and 4 years old at home by a trusted educator.
If they knew other parents in the neighborhood where they have just moved, they would have preferred to opt for collective babysitting.
“Especially since it’s unlimited, we don’t know when it’s going to end …”, drops the 32-year-old mother.
Thanks, Grandma!
A charitable grandmother offered to look after their children to help them out during the strike, in addition to her grandson.
“I am a girl who has always helped others, we always end up managing,” says Sylvie Sénécal, in great shape at 61 years old.
Not content with helping her loved ones, she also posted a message on social networks for parents in Pointe-aux-Trembles who may need her services.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have grandparents available or nearby, she emphasizes.
“They just don’t have to be sick. I want to help, but not at the risk of my family! ”
Childcare centers at a glance
► Unions on strike
◆ FSSS-CSN
- 400 establishments
- On strike indefinitely
◆ FIPEQ
- 130 establishments
- Mandate for an indefinite strike from Thursday
◆ FTQ
- 10 establishments
- Mandate for an indefinite strike from Thursday
◆ Price per day in CPE: $ 8.50
◆ Number of CPEs: 1612
◆ Number of childcare places on September 30, 2021: 98 954
◆ Number of subsidized daycare spaces that the government wants to create by 2024-2025: 37,000
◆ Number of missing employees in the early childhood network currently: 2600
Source: Ministry of the Family