Work-Related Child-Care Centres in Canada - 2001 : Summary
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The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of current practices pertaining to work-related child-care centres.
The expression work-related child-care centres refers to child-care centres which are sponsored and supported by an employer, a group of employers, a union or an employee group and which are intended to meet, although often not exclusively, the child-care needs of employees. These centres can be located either directly on the worksite or at a distance. They respond to a need for both employers and employees as evidenced by the fact that in the past ten years the number of such centres has nearly doubled in Canada.
For this study, child-care centre directors from across the country were interviewed, representing about one in seven work-related centres in Canada. This document highlights the best examples surveyed, and discusses what has been learned from the experiences of the child-care centres that participated in the study. One of the study’s main objectives is to analyse and illustrate how business and other organizations can be involved in both establishing and operating work-related child-care centres.
Through this study, employers, unions and workers who wish to set up a child-care service can become aware of the advantages and disadvantages of work-related child-care centres and the major issues related to this type of service and its establishment. Employers and labour organizations already involved in providing child-care services for workers as well as child-care professionals may also find the study useful. In looking at the examples and cases presented throughout the document, they will come across different approaches to managing and organizing work-related child-care centres, particularly with respect to relations between a child-care centre and the sponsoring organization. Lastly, the study may be of interest to anyone who would like to take part in the discussion of child-care issues.
The interviews conducted testify to the diversity among the workplaces, employers and organizations that are involved in establishing and operating child-care centres. The work-related centres looked at are affiliated with organizations that operate in a variety of sectors ranging from education to microtechnology, manufacturing and the transportation sector. While the majority of centres that took part were affiliated with large companies, a number of them served workplaces with less than 500 employees.
The study reveals that the relationship between a child-care centre and a workplace can take a variety of forms. The terms of the relationship depend on the needs, resources and priorities of each partner. The examples presented range from the full integration of the centre into the company’s structure to the mere leasing of space. In some cases, the child-care centre is used exclusively by the children of company workers while in others, only a few spaces are reserved for them.
Some of the examples presented demonstrate the importance of conducting a market study before setting up a work-related child-care centre. Through such a study, it can be determined whether workers truly need child-care services, whether these needs warrant commitment from the employer or union and whether a work-related child-care centre is the best way of meeting these needs. With a good market study, it is possible to develop a service that meets the specific needs of the workers, particularly with respect to fees, business hours, registration options and services.
Fourteen of the fifty-one participating work-related child-care centres were examined in detailed profiles.
University Children’s Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia - The centre provides a good example of what can be achieved in terms of work-related child care in a post-secondary setting.
La voûte enchantée Childcare Centre, National Bank of Canada, Montreal, Quebec - This centre was the first private sector, employer-related child-care centre in Quebec. It is a good example of a centre that offers high-quality services in part because of the financial and non-financial support it receives from the employer that sponsors it.
Mère Framboise Childcare Centre, Merck Frosst Canada & Co., Kirkland, Quebec - This centre is an important element of the company’s efforts to help its employees successfully balance their professional and personal lives. The centre also helps the company attract and retain highly qualified staff, in a sector where there is strong competition for such people.
Les petites cellules Childcare Centre, Ericsson Canada, Mount Royal, Quebec - This centre is an example of a facility that has enjoyed substantial support from senior management, including the company’s CEO. There is strong demand for child-care services from Ericsson employees, who are, on average, in their twenties.
Mes premiers pas Childcare Centre, Boutique Tricot, Montreal, Quebec - Mes premiers pas illustrates a situation in which a comparatively loose relationship between a well-established child-care centre and an employer has been highly beneficial to both parties. It is an example of how an employer, without having to spend large amounts of money, can help provide quality child care for its workers, while helping to support services for parents in the surrounding community.
La gare de rires Childcare Centre, Canadian National, Montreal, Quebec - This centre was the first in Canada for employees of a Crown corporation. It exemplifies a child-care facility for which the employer has provided support in a variety of ways, and in which it has remained continuously involved.
The Copper House, Husky Injection Molding, Bolton, Ontario - An interesting point about this centre is that it has been completely integrated into Husky’s organization and is considered one of its many business units. In 1998, it received the Ontario Margaret Fletcher Award for leadership and excellence in early childhood care and education.
CAW Child Care and Developmental Services Inc., Canadian Auto Workers and the Big Three Automakers, Windsor, Ontario - This case represents the first time that a private sector union in Canada had been able to negotiate work-related child-care services for workers, paid for by the employer. It is a model of how a union can become involved in establishing and managing a work-related child-care centre.
Studio 123 Early Learning Centre, 401 Richmond Ltd., Toronto, Ontario - This centre is an example of a co-operative project started by a businesswoman who wanted to incorporate business, culture and community values into a property development project. It also illustrates how the expertise of an organization involved in child care (in this case, the Canadian Mothercraft Society) can be marshalled to develop and manage a child-care service.
Little Ones’ Corner - Au coin des copains, Hôpital régional de Sudbury Regional Hospital, Sudbury, Ontario - Little Ones’ Corner is integrated with various hospital programs, including children’s programs for in-patients and out-patients. This centre provides regular care for preschool and school-age children, along with special services for children with disabilities.
The Department of the Future Childcare Centre, The Body Shop Canada, Toronto, Ontario - This centre illustrates how the head office of an international company in one country can influence branches in other countries in terms of the benefits and services provided to their employees. The centre is also interesting because it emphasizes, in its day-to-day operations, the employer’s corporate values, which include recycling and reducing energy consumption.
Downs Children Centre, Assiniboia Downs Racetrack, Winnipeg, Manitoba - The first child-care centre to open at a racetrack in North America, the Downs Children Centre is an example of a facility that successfully adjusts to the working conditions of a distinct group of parents who work non-standard hours and have widely varying schedules. It provides special services including transportation from the child-care centre to school and back.
Kid Gloves Daycare, Western Glove Works, Winnipeg, Manitoba - This profile describes what one company did when it realized that only a few of its employees had enrolled their children in the child-care centre it sponsored. It also highlights the need to do a thorough market study and consult with employees as part of any child-care centre project.
Souris Valley Child Care Corporation, South Centre Health District, Weyburn, Saskatchewan - Originally open on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week, this centre reduced its hours of operation because there was not enough demand from the employees for round-the-clock service. It has, nevertheless, continued to meet the needs of its clients, many of whom work various shifts.
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