Wyndham kindergarten teachers face an uncertain future due to a shake-up of the council’s 22 preschools, according to a union.
Although the council has promised there will be no job losses, Australian Education Union spokeswoman Marg Pekin said staff had been given no guarantee which centre they would work in.
“Local government reserves the right to place staff where they want, but it is distressing to members,” Ms Pekin said.
“The potential for that [switching centres] now is greater because of Wyndham’s restructure of the centres.”
She said some teachers were already looking for jobs outside the area, while others were anxious but would “wait and see”.
“Wyndham has a history of not being able to fill kindergarten teacher vacancies and because of this we are hopeful people will retain or increase their hours and we can negotiate their preferences,” she said.
A parent, who did not want to be named, said he was distressed by the uncertainty of where teachers would be placed.
“As a parent, I have had two children go to the same kindergarten and have requested to have the same teacher on both occasions,” he said.
“Now we face the issue of which kindergarten do we send our child to as it is likely that the teacher we had previously may not be at this kindergarten.”
Council chief executive Kerry Thompson said a review had found Wyndham’s kindergartens needed 21 team leader positions, which existing staff could apply for.
She said if they did not apply or were unsuccessful in their application, they would continue as kindergarten teachers and did not have to reapply for their jobs.
“In 2013, Wyndham City has 57 kindergarten teachers on staff. In 2014 there will be 40 kindergarten teachers and 21 team leaders, which is an increase of four positions,’’ she said. “Reviewing staff hours and location is part of our normal process every year and will be agreed with staff, based on the needs of the community and the preferences of our staff, where possible.”
Negotiations between the council and union are expected to finish in November.
