Parliamentary Questions

CAMP SCHOOLS — FAIRBRIDGE WA

1265. Hon JACQUI BOYDELL to the Minister for Education and Training:

I refer to the current employees working at the Bridgetown, Dampier, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Pemberton and Point Peron camp schools, which will be taken over by Fairbridge WA.

(1) How many Department of Education employees are currently employed at each of the camp schools?

(2) Will Department of Education employees be offered redundancies?

(3) If yes to (2), how many will or have been offered redundancies, and how many have accepted?

Hon SUE ELLERY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

(1) The number of staff employed at a site fluctuates throughout the year. The following table provides the number of employees, including permanent and temporary, at each camp school as at 29 November 2018. The rest of the answer to part (1) is in tabular form. I seek leave to have that incorporated into Hansard.

Leave granted.

(2) As answered in Legislative Council question on notice 768 on 11 April 2018, permanent employees at the camp schools were provided with an opportunity to express their interest in receiving a voluntary severance offer. All employees who expressed an interest have since received an offer.

(3) Thirty-five permanent employees at the camp schools received a voluntary severance offer. To 29 November 2018, 19 have accepted the offer. Permanent employees from the camp schools who have received a voluntary severance offer can accept their offer until 10 December 2018 or, in the case of Pemberton camp school, until 17 December 2018. Employees who accept their offer will exit on either 14 December 2018 or 21 December 2018 for Pemberton camp school only. Employees at Pemberton camp school have a later acceptance and exit date due to bookings at the site through to 21 December 2018.

Site managers and staff at the camp schools have been provided with workforce support. Support has been provided to the camp school managers and staff as follows. The executive director of workforce met with camp managers following the January 2018 vacation period to provide support and facilitate discussion of the workforce support required. A human resource management plan has been provided to the site managers. Officers from the workforce division have provided staff with information and guidance on the deployment process and its timing. This includes information about the allocation of case managers to affected employees. Targeted support has been provided to the site managers to manage the deployment process for employees at the site. This support is ongoing. Resources have been provided to staff to assist with development of their resumes. Ongoing case management and professional learning will be provided to employees as the transition of the sites progresses. Employees who chose not to accept a severance offer will be offered alternative positions within the department, and support continues to be provided through the transition process. All fixed-term contracts will be honoured.

Fairbridge WA is responsible for staffing the sites from 2019. Positions have been advertised and Department of Education employees are able to apply. They have been supported by the department to do so. A fortnightly newsletter to camp school staff commenced on 10 October 2018, with the third edition sent out to camp schools on 9 November 2018. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide staff members across all six camp sites with a regular update of the transition process. Information includes an update from Fairbridge, workforce matters, important dates, reminders of upcoming tasks and a look ahead in terms of transition requirements.