As of Thursday afternoon, March 1, staff members said not all employees had received offers of ongoing employment. 

The new tenancy for Gumnut childcare centre is set to be transferred from not-for-profit childcare provider SDN to ECEC Management Services on Monday, after Lithgow Council put the tenancy for the Proto Avenue childcare centre out to tender. 

A spokesperson for ECEC Management Services confirmed the service would open on Monday, March 5, and said that all permanent staff had been sent contracts.

“All families who are currently enrolled will maintain their positions with the Service as this is the case with transfers of Service. Fees are to remain at the current rate,” they said.

A staff member at Gumnut (who has asked to remain anonymous) contacted the Lithgow Mercury in the week preceding the transfer saying there had been “no job security” for staff during the transition.

As one of eight early childhood educators employed casually or formerly on contract with SDN at the childcare centre, she was not told she would have a job to go to on Monday until ECEC Management visited Gumnut on Thursday, March 1.

“Two of us have been told we have our normal hours for the next fortnight. Both of us are on a casual contract for the next fortnight, they will look at the numbers and reassess whether we are needed,” she said.

A spokesperson for ECEC Management did not confirm the loss of two jobs at the centre, that of the administration officer, and the cleaner.

“The Centre Director is responsible for the role of Administration Manager due to the number of children enrolled in the Service,” they said.

“The cleaning contract will be determined at a later stage.”

Louise, the parent of a child attending Gumnut, who contacted the Lithgow Mercury with concerns about the management transfer said that as of Thursday morning she had received no direct communication from ECEC Management.

“We got an email from SDN a month or go saying what it is now it will be exactly the same... And then we haven’t heard nothing.

“I thought by now we’d know what the fees are and what they expect in the bond.

“You want to say something but you also don’t want to jeopardise anything for your child,” she said.

Read more: SDN in discussions with new childcare tenant

A spokesperson for SDN said all things owned by SDN would be moved out from the centre on the weekend.

“We’re offering service as usual until 6pm on Friday.”

Lithgow City Council said that full due diligence inquiries had been conducted by the council’s solicitors on all parties that lodged expressions of interest for the Proto Avenue site. 

Andrew Muir, council’s director of economic development and environment said the council did have an interest in the smooth transition of the tenancy for families, and had been in contact with ECEC Management, who had told him they would be visiting the site on Thursday.