AUSTRALIAN Services Union organiser Mark Brady says staff at a Stawell childcare centre are devastated after news that it will close.
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Northern Grampians Shire Council decided to close the Taylors Gully Children’s Centre at a meeting on Monday night.
Eleven staff will be made redundant.
Mr Brady said it was a massive blow for the community.
“Staff are absolutely gutted and that’s a understatement,” he said.
“At a council meeting in June 2014, a range of options was put to council, which included closure of the centre.
“Council thankfully opted against this at the time, but still went down the path of reducing costs, which did include offering redundancies to any staff member who wanted them.
“Now, 14 months on, council thinks that the right thing to do is to leave staff without a job and an area without a council-run childcare centre.”
Mr Brady said staff and the union would continue to fight for the centre.
“We will put a strategy together and hopefully have rallies in the community,” he said.
“We have to educate the ratepayers about what is happening.
“Staff are already talking to parents and three children have pulled out of the centre already because of the uncertainty.
“I don’t know where parents will take their children now because other childcare centres are full.
“If people don’t have childcare, they can’t work - the flow on effects are phenomenal.”
Mr Brady said it was a short-sighted decision by council to close the centre.
“It is a decision that will haunt Stawell for a long time to come,” he said.
“We can’t afford to lose jobs in a regional community.”
Mr Brady said employees would be left with no redeployment options within council.
“There will certainly be no prospect of finding meaningful work within Stawell or surrounding areas,” he said.
“Council representatives are adding to the demise of Stawell by making a decision as severe as this.
“Council has now removed the only piece of competition to the privately-run childcare centre in Stawell - a move that will undoubtedly see the price of childcare skyrocket to levels out of reach for the majority of families.”