Manchester City Council has been accused of “threatening the livelihoods” of a large number of catering staff during the Covid-19 pandemic as it planned to abolish the school catering service.
The council said Manchester Fayre, which serves 74 people in the city, is in “terminal decline” and would be too expensive to continue next year.
Councillors were informed that they will charge 450,000 euros to the catering service in 2021/22 when the city corridor tackles an investment hole of 105 million euros.
Parents can pay around 2. 60 euros for their children to get a “healthy and nutritious two-course meal” prepared with local ingredients, according to the Manchester Council website.
But with more and more schools fleeing service, city officials are under pressure that it is the legal duty of the schools, not the local authority, to provide school meals.
The proposals created uncertainty among the other 431 people hired through Manchester Fayre, and the GMB union prepared to “retaliate” against the cuts.
An email written by catering staff through Anne Unwin, president of the governors of All Saints Elementary School in Gorton, was read at a council meeting on Tuesday.
“Manchester Fayre is as important a component of our All Saints team as any other member and we are highly appreciated for their determination to young people and the empathy they bring,” Unwin wrote.
“This particular year, I find it unexpected that there is a suggestion that Manchester Fayre avoid being the school food provider. “
Ms. Unwin said catering staff had worked on containment to provide food to main staff youth and vulnerable young people.
For some of these children, especially those whose main parents worked longer, school food is the main meal of the day.
The email said: “Restaurants and hotels have been greatly affected by the pandemic and others who have felt in their roles will now be involved and concerned about their own long-term jobs when the industry faces decimating.
“Is it really the time, when school meals are at the forefront of the field, to appear to threaten the livelihoods of staff who have fed and continue to feed young people in those difficult times?”
The email was read through the Chairperson of the Governance and Resources Review Committee, Councilor Sarah Russell, who asked for a reaction from officials.
Matthew Bennett, Chief Business and Operations Officer of the Manchester Council, welcomed the positive comments made about Manchester Fayre’s harsh paintings of the pandemic.
But he said: “Unfortunately, we have come to the position that this is a statutory service provided through the town hall.
“It is the school’s duty to provide school meals, we are just one of the providers in this area. “
The assembly learned that the difference between income and in-service egress is more than 600,000 euros, a figure that is widening year after year.
Mr. Bennett added: “We lose an average of one school every 8 weeks when they need another provider.
“This has resulted in a significant loss of economy of scale within the service, and it is no longer imaginable to deliver this charge effectively. “
Manchester Fayre staff who contacted GMB would be “devastated” by the proposed cuts, said Neil Smith, a senior trade union official.
According to Smith, some staff members are not contractually required to paint in fast schools, however, they are sent to schools where there is a shortage of staff.
This means that they should not apply for a change in trade regulations (employment protection), or TUPE, from a new employer.
Mr Smith said: “Without TUPE, it’s hard to say where those staff will go, and it’s hard to see a school hire 20 employees at once.
“Manchester Fayre has 74 schools, more than a third of the local network school, and it’s also a very smart level.
“We need those cuts removed from the table. We’re not going to stand by and do nothing. We’re going to fight. “