Last night the fate was finally sealed for aged care services at Boroondara council.
Five councillors voted to exit the service on July 29th, making 62 Boroondara aged care workers redundant. ASU members have stood firm throughout this time providing exemplary care to the community whilst Boroondara management has taken every step to undermine and understate the service aged carers provide.
The four councillors last night who spoke to the exit motion all personally thanked Boroondara council management for all the work they did to provide the submission to exit and how hard it has been for them. Not one of those four councillors even acknowledged or thanked the carers who have selflessly continued caring for Boroondara’s elderly clients while their jobs were on the line. Many of our members told us they couldn’t attend our meetings about this very issue because they were working and will always put their clients first.
This is the part that management and the councillors don’t understand and never will. They are completely out of touch with the reality this decision will have on the carers and elderly clients.
Council management basically said no stone was left unturned looking for options of the service, they had no choice but to exit! Maybe they forgot about those options put forward by the ASU to follow the steps of neighbouring councils Kingston and Bayside, who are not only continuing work in the home care sector but thriving.
Despite what council say, this decision is and was always a choice. A choice that will save the council $750,000 a year at the expense of council aged care workers and vulnerable elderly residents.
Shame Boroondara council, Shame.
