Union Takes On Calvary

Newcastle Herald

Thursday May 22, 2008

By PAUL MAGUIRE

THE Health Services Union will fight what organiser Bob Hull describes as the "unreasonable scapegoat sacking" of 28 permanent and 18 part-time cleaning, catering and ground maintenance staff from Cessnock's Calvary aged care hospital.

Calvary general manager Ted Coupe told the workers yesterday they would finish up on June 25 and their jobs would be taken over by contracting companies.

Mr Coupe said Calvary had been losing millions of dollars a year and organisational restructuring was essential to its long-term viability.

The cuts would not affect Calvary's 296 aged care beds or nursing services, Mr Coupe said.

Mr Hull said he and a delegation of workers would meet Mr Coupe today in an attempt to have the sackings reversed.

"These employees have been here for an average of more than 10 years, some as long as 24 years, and we will do everything in our power to see that they remain working at Calvary," Mr Hull said.

"They went through restructuring in the 1990s when the place was owned by the area health service and since The Little Company of Mary took it over in 2003 they had their numbers reduced again, cut their hours back and improved efficiency.

"The staff obviously feel betrayed, the situation appears to be an unreasonable scapegoat sacking to cover up poor management."

Mr Coupe said: "A recent review of operations, conducted by both internal and external experts, confirmed that the facility has been operating under an exceptionally high cost structure when compared to industry benchmarks and identified work practices which needed changing to bring Calvary in line with best practice in other aged care facilities."