WORKERS at a NSW government medical warehouse on Forest Road left work yesterday afternoon with heavy hearts after learning their workplace would close and they would lose their jobs.
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The 16 workers were hoping for a last-minute reprieve, however, just after 9am yesterday they received a call from the management of HealthShare, which operates the facility.
“We were told they were on their way up to talk to us and we knew then the writing was on the wall,” long-term employee Peter Iffland said.
Member for Orange Andrew Gee, who lobbied on behalf of the employees to convince NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner to retain the service, said he was extremely disappointed.
He called on the minister to reconsider the decision.
“Although I have been informed by her office that is unlikely,” Mr Gee said.
Employee Bruce McAlpine said operating the medical supplies facility out of Western Sydney was not practicable, given the area covered by the Orange warehouse, on the Bloomfield campus.
The warehouse supplies syringes, bandages, dressings, some special dietary needs and dialysis supplies to the whole of the Western NSW Local Health District.
“This new system just won’t work,” he said.
Mr Iffland said the employees felt as if they were in limbo, a sentiment echoed by Mr Gee.
“The workers were told that a transition plan would be available in March for implementation in July. They therefore have no indication as to how long they will be able to continue to work,” Mr Gee said.
Careen Zuchetto said she felt sorry for her fellow workers.
“I have another plan, but most of these people haven’t been able to do that because of uncertainty. It is sad to think that when there’s around 200 years of service between all of us it ends up like this,” she said.
Mr Gee is calling on the management of HealthShare to give an explanation to its employees as to why it failed to win the tender and retain jobs.
“Either the tender was botched or Symbion Pty Ltd, who were awarded the contract, has badly underestimated how it’s going to get medical freight out into western NSW without a presence here,” he said.
Central West Union Alliance representative Joe Maric was critical of Mr Gee, saying he should have begun lobbying earlier last year when it was flagged the warehouse service would be put out to tender.