The provincial and federal governments have announced that a $9.6-million investment will be used to give qualified early childhood educators a raise.

That raise will be as high as $3.00 per hour more than current wages.

“Our government is thankful for the hard work Saskatchewan ECEs do every day,” Education Minister Dustin Duncan said in a release. “This investment will recognize that hard work while creating an incentive for people to consider becoming ECEs themselves.”

The wage increase is retroactive to July 1, 2021.

The province says it’s anticipated that centres will have access to the money by December.

Wage increases will be determined by qualifications, with level one receiving $1.00 per hour, level two $2.00 per hour and level three $3.00 more per hour.

The province says this one time increase will provide a baseline for work to developing a wage grid for all ECEs across Saskatchewan, something the province wants to implement by the end of 2022-23.