As Alberta parents brace for a looming teachers’ strike, groups around Calgary are preparing to ramp up operations to provide child care options for families in need.
The Beach YYC, an indoor volleyball facility, is usually preparing for school group this time of year. But if classes are put on hold, general manager Scottland Pugh says the centre is ready to pivot.
“We thought why not run kids’ camps during that time at an affordable discounted rate,” says Pugh. “So, the camp would run from the 6th… from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day and then has an option of adding on before and care where the kids can join for an hour before or stay an hour later.”
The Beach YYC employs some high school students who have already expressed interest in working the camp during the potential strike to augment staffing. The recreation centre is asking for a $10 deposit if the camp runs, with the balance payable at the start of the camp, or the deposit returned if a deal is reached.
That kind of flexibility will be needed from employers as well says Vered Levant, founder of Vimy HR.
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“We’ve seen over the last two years there’s been a call for employees to go back to the office,” says Levant. “So, the preference isn’t to have employees working remotely, however I think in this situation there’s not a lot of choice.”
Levant says immediate child care could be difficult for some families to find, so there will have to be some level of empathy and flexibility to offset the potential loss of productivity employers think of when employees work remotely.
“I would say the hard part to get around is treating everyone the same,” says Levant. “In the beginning that is probably what would be required and then when you have a bit more time to dig into individual needs where you can create a more robust plan.”
With just over three weeks to go until any possible job action, Levant says now is the time to make plans that are easier to cancel at the last minute than scramble to set up.
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