Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with United Voice's Erina Early about the much loved Irene Billias being made redundant from Nightcliff Family Centre

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Katie spoke with United Voice's Erina Early about the much loved Irene Billias being made redundant from Nightcliff Family Centre · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, I'm sure many of you, like me this morning,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: were pretty surprised to read the paper and see that, well,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: a childcare worker who's raised generations of territory children's been
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: unceremoniously made redundant by an early childhood education center well
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: for being what they say is unqualified. Now, we do
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: actually know that Irene Billius, who has worked at the
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: center for thirty three years, does have a diploma in
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: early childhood care services. But the center, well, they'd made
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: some changes and wanted or required a degree qualified teacher.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Now what followed I think is pretty upsetting. Now, joining
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: me on the line to tell us a little bit
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: more about this situation is Erina Early from United the
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: United Workers Union.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Erina.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Good morning, Katie. Erina.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit more about this situation.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: I understand that the union is obviously representing Irene and
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: trying to help her at the moment, what's unfolded exactly?
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: Okay, thanks Katie. So what happened is the committee notified
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: Irene that they were looking at making her perposition redundant
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: because they required a teacher in that position instead. So
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: what they did, Katie, they did not offer Irene an
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: alternative employment as you need to do when you're looking
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: for redundancies. Also to when they found out that Irene
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: as well, everyone knows who knows Irene is an outstanding
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: woman who had a very strong voice, not just for
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: herself but also for early educators and the profession and
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: the community. Questioned but why she's been offered a redundancy,
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: why can't they keep her on, etc. And when she
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: started asking questions, all of a sudden, you're made redundant now,
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: So they escalated a situation from a possible redundancy to
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: a redundancy. When she questioned and.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: So Erina was there the opportunity?
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: You know, did they say that if she wanted to
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: stay that she would have to study a university degree
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: or what did they tell her?
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: So basically it they advised her put some watson forward.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: So Irene did. They were completely ignored to put the
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: option in. And I'm not joking. Five minutes later we
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: get a response back they know, we don't consider you're
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: optional feasible. You're not taking this matter seriously. So everything
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Irene tabled, they just kept knocking back erin.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: I think that this is pulled at the heartstrings of
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: so many Territorians, because the reality here is that so
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: many of us actually know Irene. We've had our children,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: or some people have had their grandchildren cared for by
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Irene at the old care center. Is this quite an
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: unusual situation that has unfolded from your experience, it is, Kate.
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: We deal with redundancies all the time. But the way
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: that they're just like throw an Irene away is absolutely
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: heartbreaking and devastating. They didn't even have the guts, Katie,
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: to tell her her job is being made redundant. They
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: actually did that through the union. No phone calls, no letters,
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: address her, Let's have a meeting. We'll just tell the union,
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: and the union could tell her that she no longer
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: has a job. And you know, they told the parents
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: I'm live, They told the staff live why she left.
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: They told her that she just resigned.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: It is like, honestly, it's really sad to hear I
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: know that, Like I've seen a copy of this of
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: this letter, and I know that they had said that.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: You know that as a result of a restructure, but
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: also as a result of of I guess the way
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: that they are managing things or the way that things
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: have been managed with their accreditation that they would need
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: somebody in there who had that university qualification. So in
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: order to meet the national quality regulations, they need to
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: hire a qualified early childhood teacher erin.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Does that cut it from your perspective.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: No, not at all, Katie. We have other early education
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  Speaker 3: centers and they've had had to get teachers as part
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: of their licensing requirements. They've kept their staff on. This
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: is one of the first we've actually been here in
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  Speaker 3: the NT that we're aware of. They've actually made redundant
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: an early educator, and especially someone like Irene. Childcare is
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: in a crisis, a Katie kind of throw away an
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: early educator.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not someone with it, Like, you know, you're
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: talking about so much experience and I, oh, is it?
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: You know, we're getting people messaging saying she's got so
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: much experience, like it's honestly, it's more useful than a
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: university degree.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: Well, it's crazy. It's crazy, Katie. When we first get notified,
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: I thought someone was joking with me when they told
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: me that what happened to Irene. I was like, seriously, no,
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: You've got the wrong person.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: So of all the.
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  Speaker 3: People to make redundant and to be treated this way
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  Speaker 3: with the process that they follow is I'm absolutely gobsmacked,
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: absolutely Scott, that the committee should be completely ashamed of themselves.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Erina, like we're to from here, you know, is there
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: any opportunity that she could be re employed?
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I mean, would Irene want to go back to this job?
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  Speaker 1: What? Like?
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  Speaker 2: What are her options now?
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: So with Irene last speaking to Irene, she loves her job,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: she loves those children, she loves the center of the parents.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: I believe she was offered her job, she would come back.
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: That center is everything to her, and the center revolves
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: around Irene. Industrially, is we need to it's with our
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: legal to see if it is a genuine redundancy. But
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: knowing Irene, she would just want her job back and
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: being back with her children and the parents. Is this ageist, Well,
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: we have thought of that too, Katie. We have looked
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: at those options too. We've looked at you know, the
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: oldest person there, et cetera. So that is something that
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: we have considered. We can't rule that out as well, Katie.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, we are being inundated with messages throughout this morning,
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  Speaker 1: you know, even now, like I've got a message that's
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: come through from somebody whose children used to go there.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: I received a message a short time ago from the
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Lord Mayor convat Scarlets. You know, people are really sort
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: of upset about this and are really feeling quite sad.
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  Speaker 2: And I do want to say that I know that
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: so many.
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  Speaker 1: Of the staff that work at the Nightcliff Family Center
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: are absolutely beautiful, wonderful educators, and this is in no
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: way a reflection upon those beautiful people that work there,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: But it just seems like a really unfair situation that's unfolded.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, am Katie. That's something that is completely unfair, and
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: there is really no reason why Irene has been treated
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: this way.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: Well, Erina, I'm really interested to see what does unfold
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: over the next couple of days, you know, Yeah, please
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: keep us posted. I'd love to speak to Irene, but
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: I know that at this point she's gutted by what
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: has gone on, and so I really appreciate you having
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: a chat with me this morning.
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: Always my pleasure, Katie.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: Thank you,