When Danni* received a letter from her superannuation fund informing her that her life insurance would be cancelled due to inactivity, she was puzzled.
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She was a long term employee of Gumnut Child Centre on Pronto Avenue, Lithgow, which is run by ECEC Management Services, and had assumed that her payments had been coming in as normal.
The letter prompted her to look into her superannuation payments. She said she found no payments had been made by her employer for some months.
She was not alone.
Co-worker Louise* said she stopped receiving the automatic notifications from her super fund that super was being paid regularly into her account in 2018.
"When we all realised we were all in the same boat, it would have been early this year," Danni said.
A spokesperson representing the union United Voice said a group complaint was lodged with the company this year following complaints of non-payment from staff across the board who were employed at the centre, approximately 13 complaints in all.
"Various employees contacted the owner. There were numerous emails and phone calls over more than 12 months," the union spokesperson said.
"The response was very limited. It was always, "we'll look into it, we'll get back to you", but no resolution."
A complaint was also lodged with the Australian Tax Office.
ECEC Management Services Pty Ltd was contacted for comment by phone and text message but did not return the Lithgow Mercury's calls.
It is estimated by the union that, between the 12 staff represented by it at the centre, they were owed an estimated $50,000.
"I don't want my insurance to be cancelled. If something happened, I don't want it to become a financial burden on my family," Danni said.
Louise said, as some of the workers were close to retirement age, there were real issues around a failure to have super coming into the accounts.
"We are all working our buts off and we have great relationships with the families here," she said.
"It's a real kick in the guts."
The workers have joined together to launch an online petition urging ECEC Management Services Pty Ltd to pay its owed superannuation to staff.
"Workers at Gumnut are asking for their basic employment entitlements to be met," the petition, which is hosted at megaphone.org.au, states.
The petition has been launched by the Big Steps: Value Our Future campaign run by United Voice.
*Louise and Danni are not the women's real names. They have asked to remain anonymous.
ATO review
The United Voice confirmed it had brought the concerns of its members to the attention of the Australian Tax Office for review.
An ATO spokesperson said the organisation could not comment on the tax affairs of any individual or entity "due to our obligations of confidentiality under the law".
"The ATO takes non-compliance of employer obligations seriously, including PAYGW and superannuation guarantee (SG)," the spokesperson said.
"We use sophisticated data models to monitor employers' compliance with SG. We analyse data provided by employers, individuals and superannuation funds and undertake a range of other strategies including education, reviews and audits."
The ATO stated employers that did not meet their required SG obligations would be liable for the super guarantee charge (SGC), made up of the super guarantee shortfall amounts (amount of super contributions which should have been paid into a complying fund), interest and an administration fee of $20 per employee per quarter.
Additionally, there may be a Director Penalty Notice to company directors to recover unpaid SG liabilities, or commence legal action in cases where an employer does not engage with the ATO.
Gumnut history
Gumnut was previously operated by not-for-profit organisation SDN Children's Services.
In 2017, as part of a tender process for the Lithgow City Council-owned building, the operation of the premises was transferred across to ECEC Management Services.
It took over operations on February 5, 2018.
At a recent meeting of council, a staff member from Gumnut Child Care criticised council's move to award the tender.
"I want to know what council intends to do about the mess they've put us in," the worker, who has asked to remain anonymous, said.