Canadian Labour Congress puts May Day focus on child care

'A compelling reminder of all the reasons workers and their unions mobilize and struggle for equality and quality of life.'

Ottawa (27 April 2006) - The Canadian Labour Congress is shining the spotlight on the issue of child care to mark this year's May Day observances on May 1.

Ken Georgetti says governments across the country, federal and provincial - have a duty to make sure our children enjoy high-quality and safe child care.

This is especially true with two-thirds of the mothers of children under the age of three working outside the home and with three quarters of mothers with children between three and five working away from home, Georgetti says.

More than half of all Canadian children rely on some form of child care, he adds.

The congress will be highlighting the issue in advertisements on urban transit buses across the country for the next few weeks.

The ads, featuring the slogan Child Care. Kids Are Worth It, call for creation of new, affordable, high-quality and safe child care spaces across the country.

This is a goal the current Conservative government wants to cancel by rolling back child care agreements signed with the provinces last year.

The congress says good child care creates learning environments that provide children with a great and lasting first start.

"As Canadian working women and men across the country get ready to celebrate International Workers' Day on May 1st, this simple message about our children is a
compelling reminder of all the reasons workers and their unions mobilize and struggle for equality and quality of life," Georgetti says.

The congress represents three million workers across Canada in national and international unions, provincial and territorial labour federations and 135 district labour councils.

International Workers' Day is celebrated in many countries around the world on May 1 to commemorate historic achievements of the labor movement. In countries other than Canada, the United States and United Kingdom, May Day is often referred to as Labor Day. Labour Day in Canada is celebrated on the first Monday in September.

In most other places of the world, the resident working classes fought hard to make May Day an official government-recognized holiday. NUPGE