Last week we alerted you to allegations that ending Childcare Services was discussed at a weekend retreat involving the Councillors and the Executive.
The Council has since written to us saying:
‘The union is correct in its advice that during the weekend of 15 and 16 February 2020 a workshop was held with Councillors to explain the budget position and that Children’s Services was one of the areas of our business identified where savings could be made to address the deficiencies in the recurrent budget.
The union’s correspondence, however, failed to notify staff that during this weekend a vast array of operation and services across the entirety of Council were considered and that Children’s Services was not identified as the sole solution to this significant budget issue.’
Check out the full letter here: http://bit.ly/response-to-flyer
We don’t think our first flyer was inaccurate or misleading:
We have since been shown part of a document which causes us more concern regarding Childcare Services at the Council.
We have a copy of the document (see page 23) which you can read by going to: http://bit.ly/full-cumberland-report
Some key quotes include:
- Council could make a decision to close the business as it is not sustainable and pay approximately $3.9m in redundancy costs.
- Exiting the business would result in savings of approximately $4.8m per annum but this will depend on timing.
- This is the preferred option if we cannot improve the profitability of the business.
It is clear that this is only one part of a larger document and that Council appear to be considering a number of options to address their budgetary concerns. But we are telling our members, THAT IS YOU, to be forewarned that the future of Childcare Services is being discussed.
It may not happen, and as far as we can tell no decisions have been made – but IT IS BEING DISCUSSED.
Please contact Sue Kealy for further information on 0418 495 265 or skealy@usu.org.au
