YMCA sacks staff at Coburg Leisure - ALP council to blame : Melbourne Indymedia

The YMCA tender to run the Coburg Leisure Complex expires on the June 30. Moreland City Council owns the pool and has directed the CEO to negotiate with Belgravia Leisure over the new tender that starts July 1. On May 22 a council resolution directed the CEO and the preferred tender to:

"Guarantee that existing employees engaged by the incumbent service provider (who transfer across to the employment of the successful tenderer to provide services under the tender) retain their existing wages, terms and conditions of employment"

Sounds fine at face value but a this stage, with only 3 weeks before the change over, Belgravia have not entered into serious negotiations with the union, ASU, over how this can be achieved. Not only that there is no guarantee that all staff will be re-hired, no guarantee that existing programs will remain in tact or that existing conditions enjoyed by staff but no captured in the current EBA will be protected.

The local community who use the facility have been greatly inconvenienced. During the winter holidays the YMCA usually run a winter learn to swim program, cancelled this year due in part to the current confusion. Parents seeking to re-enrol children into swim lesson next term don't know:

What teachers will in fact be working next term
What the new program actually is

In fact customers in all areas seeking to know what is going on next term have been told honestly by staff. "we don't know". The council hasn't bothered to keep anyone informed least of all workers and customers, what a disgrace.

Remember that this is an ALP dominated council. The council sort to simply grant the tender to Belgravia (lowest bidder) on the May 10 without even bothering to inform the union that covers staff at the centre. Given that Belgravia put in the lowest bid and has a reputation for being anti-union condition of the workers of the centre were under threat. Luckily word got out (on the afternoon of May 10) and as a result of some desperate last hour lobbying the council deferred the decision to May 22.

What took place between May 10 and May 22 was a chaotic effort to turn the council around. The ASU and supporters argued that the leisure centre in fact should be run by the council, not a private operator. There were numerous phone calls, veiled threats, motions at a public IR meeting (May 17), drops offs of documents outlining a case against Belgravia and a public presence at the May 22 special council meeting. After all this the best the council could do was a motion guarantying our existing conditions, what a joke.

Two factors have hamstrung an effective union and community response.
1. The tender process excludes an open discussion of terms and conditions for employees in a proposed tender. (we do not know and maybe never will, our pay rates etc in the original Belgravia bid). Also staff and unions being outside the tender process are officially not to influence its outcome.

2. If the union took industrial action to protect its members that action would be illegal.

It is therefore somewhat ironic that Moreland City Council made such a song and dance about supporting the Rights at Work Campaign.

Anyway there is going to be a Moreland City Council meeting on June 14.

Wednesday 14 June
7 pm
Council Chamber,
Moreland Civic Centre,
90 Bell Street, Coburg

Could be an opportunity to meet and talk to some of our councillors.
more to come....