Cumberland parents, workers oppose childcare centre closures
Parents and workers fighting to stop treating ‘undervalued workers with barefaced contempt‘ by selling off a group of western Sydney childcare centres have notched up another win.
Parramatta
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Parents and workers fighting to stop treating ‘undervalued workers with barefaced contempt' by selling off Cumberland Council’s childcare centres have notched up another win after the council agreed to re-evaluate options to prevent privatisation.
There are nine council-owned long day care centres that provide care for 608 children, costing ratepayers up to $1.9 million each year.
During last week’s council meeting, United Services Union organiser Sandie Morthen said 101 children with special needs depended on care at council-run centres and they were often not accepted at private facilities.
Ms Morthen presented options to save the centres from private operators, including closing centres with low occupancy rates and merging others to boost enrolment numbers.
She said Auburn Long Day Child Care Centre and Pemulwuy Children’s Centre were at capacity but the lowest patronised, the Sometime Centre at Merrylands, should be closed in an effort to save $176,000 by relocating children to Banksia Babes and Gumnut Grove in Merrylands.
Other savings could be met by having five centres to 95 per cent capacity and securing $548,000 profit.
She said Blacktown and Liverpool councils’ childcare centres were on the brink of closure several years ago but after an overhaul that included better advertising, Blacktown’s 23 centres were now 96 per cent full despite 111 private competitors, and Liverpool’s centres were profitable.
Ms Morthen also called for Cumberland to boost its online presence to help drive up childcare centre enrolments.
“Your centres are known throughout your online government area as being outstanding, as providing top quality care but as a new parent looking for a centre to place my children in, I cannot find anything on the internet that would entice my to your centre over a private centre,’’ she said.
“There is no information on a particular centre, there is no information on the curriculum offered. ... and there are no photos of the centre to show me where I would be sending my child.’’
She quoted a letter on behalf of a father whose children attended Cumberland childcare centres, urging the council not to undermine childcare workers.
“Never has their expertise and professionalism been of such benefit to our community.“Never have they been treated with such barefaced contempt. Never have they been so critically undervalued.’’
Dr Diane Colman, whose daughters attended Gumnut Grove centre at Merrylands, implored the council to keep the centres in community hands and support working families.
“As these centres exceeded the national quality standards for childcare in all categories I was reassured my children would receive the highest standard of care and that is certainly what they got,’’ she said.
“My girls absolutely loved going to Gumnut Grove and still have friends there to this day.‘They provide a vital service to the families of our community — to the parents, to the children of our community.’’
Labor councillor Ola Hamed welcomed the solutions.
“The mayor keeps banging on about going back to basics. Well nothing is more basic or essential than looking after our children,’’ she said.
Liberal councillor Michael Zaiter questioned how the largest revenue opportunity could be generated from boosting advertising.
Following the presentation, the council went into a confidential session and this week issued a statement that said it would re-tender and explore alternative providers to run the centres.
It also pledged to continue investigating a model that would allow the council to retain operating the nine centres.
“It’s a significant decision that will be carefully considered to ensure the best outcome for ratepayers and families,” Mayor Steve Christou said.
“We’re committed to continuing to leverage the working group which includes union representatives, staff and two councillors.
“They’re investigating more cost savings and increased revenue opportunities, so the service can sustainably run itself without being subsidised by ratepayers.
“Depending on the final position of this working group, and the offers submitted via the new tender process, there is a possibility that council may consider retaining the services without privatising them.’’
In August, the cash-strapped council revealed it was considering selling its childcare centres, four swimming pools, two golf courses, aged care units and the Holroyd Centre in an effort to salvage $4.5 million in savings.
At a November 23 meeting during a closed session, Cr Christou used his casting vote to begin the tender process with Advantage Childcare Services, Lighthouse Childcare and The Infants Home Child and Family Services.
At a council meeting on December 16, Labor councillors Lisa Lake, Suman Saha, Glenn Elmore, and independent Greg Cummings, moved to defer the tender process with the companies, none which are not-for-profit.
But the move was lost on Cr Christou's casting vote.
Childcare educator Isabella Fossano, who has worked at Cumberland centres for 18 years, urged the council to put people before profits.
“We feel unvalued, disrespected and betrayed by the very council we all choose to work under,’’ she said.
“It would be easy for us to leave and join another scheme but instead we stand here before you to fight for our scheme.
“We have worked through this pandemic with reduced and loss of income but we were there for the children, for our community and always put them first.
“Sometimes even if a service does not generate profit that shouldn’t take priority over the benefits that services provides to the community.’’
Parent Nicole Senior, who had used Gumnut Grove at Merrylands for her child, said the council-run centres had enabled her to run her business.
“One of the reasons I chose these services was because they were provided by council and I know the quality of care is better in not-for-profit services than services run for profit,’’ she said.
“Some things are too important to be run as a business and childcare is one of them.’’
Prospect state Labor MP Hugh McDermott said the forced amalgamations put the council in a dire economic position with debts of $41 million over the past three years but the childcare centres were vital to the community.
“I have serious concerns that the privatisation of the Cumberland Council services and outsourcing jobs means the council will no longer be able to ensure they’re delivering inexpensive, culturally sensitive, disability-friendly and high-quality services to our Cumberland council community,’’ he said.
“The outsourcing of service to the private sector will jeopardise jobs as well of hardworking council employees.’’
Cr Lake said the plan to outsource childcare centres contradicted the council’s children’s strategy and torpedoed an operational plan the council passed on June 17 that outlined a commitment to children’s services.
She said it was capable of running services in an economically sustainable way, especially after it had increased its fees in January and September.
Our Local Community councillor Paul Garrard supported the privatisation.
“I know what councillor Lake was saying, that in various documents we agreed to support but agreeing to support doesn’t necessarily mean we agree to fund and to run (childcare centres),” he said.
“We have a very, very big financial problem we’re trying to address and you either lose workers in childcare and/or you lose workers everywhere else.
“Driving down some roads, you think you’re driving down railway tracks so eventually those roads have to be looked after and money will have to be spent there or more people will lose their jobs elsewhere in the organisation as well.”
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