Conditions unsafe for child-care centre workers

My role as a cook in a childcare centre provides me with opportunities to do various tasks throughout the centre on a daily basis. During typical times, this is a great way to connect with coworkers, children and families; however, during a pandemic, this role becomes increasingly dangerous to myself and all of those around me.

Beyond the role of food prep, I am also responsible for the collection, washing and sanitizing of all dishes, collection and laundering of soiled washcloths, children’s blankets, personal items, clothing, cleaning cloths, etc., as well as the collection and disposal of garbage. This involves travel through all of the cohorts within the centre, multiple times a day, as well as being in contact with items being contaminated by every single child and staff member within the centre.

I have no way of having a bubble or cohort in this role as educators do within their classroom. This is not to mention the shared spaces that I use along with the other 20-plus staff working at any given time (washrooms, hallways, staff room, etc.).

I personally live in a household with two other people who are essential workers — one who is in and out of various hospitals and businesses on a daily basis, and another who is a continuing care assistant who travels to people’s homes, often those who have tested positive for COVID-19.

This means not only am

I at extremely high risk to transmit COVID-19 from the centre and bring it home, but I also have a high chance of transmitting potential COVID-19 exposures from home into the centre.

As a province, we are being asked to stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19 throughout our communities, to keep our bubbles to our own households, etc. How am I supposed to do this when I am in contact with upwards of 100 or more people in a day, just by entering my place of work?

I am incredibly uncomfortable coming to work in the current climate of our province and feel extremely unsafe within the workplace, as there is no possible way for me to do my basic daily tasks without being at risk myself as well as a risk to others. The mental, physical and emotional stress that this has caused me and my household members is significant and will continue to rise as case numbers do.

Last year, during our lockdown, child-care centres remained closed for several months, allowing staff and children to stay safely in their homes, just as the majority of Nova Scotians have been granted the opportunity to do today. Why is the health and safety of early childhood educators (ECES) and others, like myself, working in childcare centres not important now, when case numbers are remarkably higher, there are multiple variants of the virus, and the rest of the educators in the province (teachers, ECES working in pre-primary, etc.) are being protected.

The Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act clearly states:

“Every employer shall take every precaution that is reasonable in the circumstances to (a) ensure the health and safety of persons at or near the workplace; (b) provide and maintain equipment, machines, materials or things that are properly equipped with safety devices; (c) provide such information, instruction, training, supervision and facilities as are necessary to the health or safety of the employees; (d) ensure that the employees, and particularly the supervisors and foremen, are made familiar with any health or safety hazards that may be met by them at the workplace; (e) ensure that the employees are made familiar with the proper use of all devices, equipment and clothing required for their protection; and (f) conduct the employer’s undertaking so that employees are not exposed to health or safety hazards as a result of the undertaking.”

The Department of Early Education and Childhood Development, the government of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Public Health Authority have not done their due diligence to ensure that my centre of employment as well as other childcare centres within the province of Nova Scotia are able to follow the above-mentioned basic human rights of employees.

As an employee of a childcare centre who is, all of a sudden, being considered an “essential worker,” I feel as though my health and wellbeing are being completely disrespected, undervalued and neglected. The mental, physical, emotional and financial state of early childhood educators and those of us working in other roles within child-care centres are at stake.