Shoalhaven City Council will sack one in five of its staff, up to 110 people, under a plan the Mayor, Councillor Patricia White, rammed through council on Tuesday night despite Councillor White assuring staff at a meeting in December their jobs were safe.
The stunning plan for mass sackings was opposed by many Councillors who expressed disbelief at the Mayoral move.
Councillors Jemma Tribe, Matthew Norris, Ben Krikstolaitis, Gillian Boyd and Natalee Johnston opposed the plan.
Stuart Geddes from the United Services Union, which represents the employees, says staff are in a state of shock.
“The Mayor has been telling Shoalhaven council staff their positions are safe, and now she moves to sack them, it’s just unbelievable,” said Mr Geddes.
“I’ve had members on the phone to me in tears, one said to me if she loses her job she’ll have to live in her car with two kids in the middle of winter.
“Our members are already under strain due to lack of resourcing and understaffing.
“The cost of living crisis is biting and now they’re being told one in five are on the chopping block.
“And this is happening while the Mayor, Councillor Patricia White, is taking council funded trips to Orange to hob-nob with other politicians instead of rolling up her sleeves and solving problems in her community.
“Our members live and work in the Shoalhaven community and it is to that community they will go to hold Councillor Patricia White to account.
“We’ll be holding meetings with our members to plan the community response to the Mayor’s plan to send one in five Council staff to the unemployment queues.”
Contact: Tim Brunero 0405 285 547
