Unions and Labor politicians are calling on Kiama councillors to halt the sale of aged care business Blue Haven Illawarra, slamming the council for its lack of consultation with the community.
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In a confidential extraordinary meeting last week, councillors voted to offload Blue Haven in a bid to avoid financial insolvency.
Union officials stood alongside federal member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips and state Shellharbour MP Anna Watson on Monday as they demanded the council rescind its decision, pending engagement with the community.
"You can't alienate the people from decisions that affect their assets, their land, their services and their jobs," South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said.
Mr Rorris said the Labour Council understood the seriousness of the council's financial issues, but wanted it to step back from the sale to allow for discussions "that should have occurred in the beginning".
United Services Union industrial officer Stuart Geddes said employees were "terrified" about the potential for loss of entitlements, conditions and job security if Blue Haven was privatised.
"It's a general concern that they're going to end up in a more insecure environment," Mr Geddes said.
He said Blue Haven provided stable jobs that supported the local economy and accounted for almost half of the council's entire workforce.
"People come to live here [at Blue Haven] because it's public sector, because it's not for profit, because it's safe, because it provides a better quality of service than what we see across the private industry," Mr Geddes added.
An employee of Blue Haven, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Mercury that the decision had been made "hush-hush", with no discussion with staff.
"A lot of workers are really worried about entitlements being lost, and they don't have any say in the matter," he said.
Many employees wanted to work for the council rather than a private provider, he said, counting himself among their number.
The worker said many employees had been with Blue Haven a long time and were left "disappointed and let down" by the decision.
Councillors resolved to include a number of conditions in the contract with McVay Real Estate to maintain quality of care and workers' conditions, but Mr Rorris said "transmission of business principles do not apply for that length, it's been tested in courts and that's part of the problem".
"You either get someone who will just run it as it is, and the question is if that's the case, why sell it?" he said.
"Or you get someone who starts stripping off assets, sacking workers, reducing pay rates, reducing quality."
Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips said Kiama council had been let down by the federal government and if Labor were elected on Saturday, there would be greater transparency and accountability in aged care to ensure federal funding reached residents.
"This is a trusted and well-respected organisation, and we need to keep it in public hands," her NSW counterpart Anna Watson said.
Kiama Municipal Council's statement
Kiama Council is aware of and shares the concerns of the United Services Union regarding the impact of the sale of Blue Haven Illawarra on its staff and residents.
That is why councillors stipulated the following conditions be attached the sale:
- The high standard in quality of care for the residents and families of the Blue Haven Residential Aged Care Facility be maintained, protected and uninterrupted and continue to meet regulatory requirements.
- The good reputation and care invested in our Blue Haven Independent Living Unit Community and Home Care Support Services be maintained, protected, uninterrupted and continue to meet regulatory requirements. .
- The good reputation, working environment, and conditions for Blue Haven Staff of Kiama Municipal Council be maintained and protected.
- Probity lawyers are appointed to act in Council's interest and sound tender processes are used to ensure compliance with the Local Government Act.
The decision also follows extensive previous public information from the State of the Organisation Report, and Strategic Improvement Plan, and specific resolutions of Council made in April 2022. Regular fortnightly meetings with unions, including the United Services Union, have been held, and will continue.
Blue Haven and Kiama Council staff were informed about the decision immediately, and regular staff briefings and extra sessions were already scheduled, and will be maintained.
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