Vinnies has promised to employ all staff members from The Green Shed depot and op shops, look at putting them on even better wages and conditions and not change the cheap price structure at the Mitchell and Mugga Lane sheds.
A public meeting organised by ACT Independent Senator David Pocock on Tuesday brought representatives from Vinnies and The Green Shed staff face-to-face for the first time since last week when it was revealed the St Vincent de Paul Society of Canberra/Goulburn had won a tender to run the reuseables depots at Mugga Lane and Mitchell while The Green Shed had missed out after holding the contract for 14 years.
St Vincent de Paul Society director of communications Phillip Jones said on Tuesday that while Vinnies was not legally obliged to hire The Green Shed staff, and The Green Shed op shops were not in its purview, the society would now be offering jobs to all 84 staff members of The Green Shed in what was a situation developing "day by day, even minute by minute".
Last week, Vinnies had said the op shops were outside the tender and "we have no knowledge of the future plans there".
'If you want a job with us, you've got it'
Mr Jones said after Tuesday's public meeting that part of the reason its attitude to employing The Green Shed staff had changed was the public outcry around the possibility they would lose their jobs.
"Let me say this upfront, if you want a job with us, you've got it. It's that simple," Mr Jones told staff at the meeting.
The Green Shed staff expressed appreciation to Mr Jones for fronting the meeting and to Senator Pocock for organising the event, even though he said it was "squarely a Territory issue".
"But after the ACT government said they won't be holding any public meeting about it I've decided to hold one and pass on the feedback," Senator Pocock said.
Senator Pocock said The Green Shed staff in particular wanted to be told first-hand what was happening with their positions in the contract change.
"I know some staff have rung a dozen MLA offices and the phone wasn't answered," Senator Pocock said.
Mr Jones said Vinnies always planned to meet with The Green Shed staff, but the situation had become public earlier than planned when The Green Shed co-owner Charlie Bigg-Wither revealed on social media it had not been successful in winning the tender. Mr Bigg-Wither then decided to shut The Green Shed op shops, saying 84 people in total would lose their jobs, comprising the depot and op shop staff.
Some of The Green Shed staff attended the public meeting on Tuesday, saying nothing had been made clear to them and they felt like they were in limbo.
"This is the first time the staffing body has had any contact with anyone from Vinnies, ever, directly, and we've also never been involved in this process with the government," one said.
Some people and staff from The Green Shed at the meeting on Tuesday were angry no ministers or representatives of the ACT government attended and did not believe Vinnies should be copping heat from the community.
"It would have been nice to have some members of the ACT government here to actually speak about how this process played out," Dr Jerry Nockles said, adding that if the process had been more transparent, "we wouldn't be turning our guns on St Vincent's and other NGOs".
Barr 'contemptuous of the Canberra people'
Paul McGrath, from the Ngunnawal Street Pantry, even went so far as to urge people to vote for Independents at the October Assembly election, claiming Chief Minister Andrew Barr was "so contemptuous of the Canberra people".
"They're cowards as far as facing the community," he said, adding the government expected people to "shut up and take it" when it came to controversial decisions.
Mr McGrath and his wife Margaret said they regularly helped people in desperate situations to receive free donated items when they could not afford to shop at Vinnies. They were concerned about what the future held for this people once Vinnies took over the tip depots and once the street pantry closed in January.
Mr McGrath said he had been trying without luck for the last three years to meet with Mr Barr to discuss law reform that would make it compulsory for restaurants to donate excess food to charities and schools.
"I've given up," he said.
People at Tuesday's meeting were also worried Vinnies would increase prices at the Mugga Lane and Mitchell depots which were now basically run as a "tip shed" or put in an overly complicated system which would result in people taking away fewer items and more waste going to landfill.
Mr Jones said pricing at the sheds would not change, but items would be ticketed because the government wanted strict targets met on how much waste was being diverted from landfill.
He said the reason Vinnies had competed for the tender was to help contribute to the income the society needed to fund the programs that helped the disadvantaged, such as the Night Patrol, with only 27 per cent of funds coming from government sources.
"We respond to the need we see in the community, simple as that. So with the work we can do with the shed and the team at the shed, it simply means for us we can help more people," Mr Jones said.
Communication 'regrettable'
City Services Minister Tara Cheyne in the Assembly on Tuesday criticised the communication from bureaucrats around the tender.
"I note the communication from [Transport Canberra and City Services] was regrettable and that they have apologised," she said.
"Communication about the process and the decision to the community, to my office and to The Green Shed was not the standard the ACT government or the community expects.
"I acknowledged the government could certainly have done better in explaining this process, not just to those interested in submitting a proposal but to the entire community."
Ms Cheyne spoke to the Legislative Assembly after Greens backbencher Jo Clay tabled a petition to prevent the closure of The Green Shed, which has been signed by more than 7000 people. The facility itself will not close, but it will instead be operated by Vinnies.
The Green Shed posted a letter they received from Procurement ACT, which said the organisation had not "been selected as the preferred respondent".
The letter said Vinnies had been chosen and if the organisation wanted a briefing on the decision, it would need to respond requesting this within five business days.
Ms Cheyne said she had been told all staff at The Green Shed would be employed if they wanted to transition across to Vinnies.
The City Services Minister told the Assembly staff who worked at The Green Shed's retail stores in Civic, which are not included in the tender and will be shutting, would be offered the opportunity to apply to work at Vinnies' shopfronts.
"We're not going to say all staff are guaranteed to a job because they may not want to transition so it will be up to staff they will have that autonomy," Ms Cheyne said.
Ms Cheyne was unable to provide a definitive answer on whether staff would be paid the same amount but she said the Vinnies agreement generally paid above the award wage.
Ms Cheyne said the government would not interfere in the procurement.
"Any suggestions there should be political interference in a procurement process certainly raises some questions," Ms Cheyne said.
Vinnies officially takes over the Mugga Lane and Mitchell depots on May 31.
