Sympathy has turned to anger for jilted staff as the full repercussions of the closure of Titoki Manor last week hits home.
When the owners of the rest home "dropped the bomb" and told them they were out of a job with four days notice, former cook Jenny McLachlan said her and other employees were left feeling angry.
"Up front it's the residents who have got the crappiest deal. They've been treated like s..t," she said.
She said staff were told to not to talk to the press and initially she was reluctant to speak up. She said staff numbers were closer to 25, including agency staff, not the 35 that was reported last week.
"People don't want to rock the boat, but I'm getting sick of it. It's crappy treatment,"
Mrs McLachlan said she really loved the job and enjoyed going to work each day and to be shut out so suddenly was awful.
The owner of Titoki Manor, Ian Steele, said they had no choice but to close the rest home, but would not comment further until a later date.
Mrs McLachlan said she thought the district health board had been well aware of the closure long before it was announced to the staff and residents.
"Of course they knew. You just can't place them over night. They were bundled up and thrown out.
"Our first thoughts were for the residents, as they have been all along. They are not really residents to us they are family," she said.
"Then they dropped the bomb. They said, "Sorry we're closing next Tuesday". We were stunned and upset," she said.
Although she was sympathetic to the owners' financial plight, the sympathy quickly turned to anger when she realised how badly everyone had been treated.
"Our sympathy for them just dropped. Joanne and Ian Steele just buggered off and didn't come back until the day they closed," she said.
One of the residents told Mrs McLachlan that had management informed them about the closure a month before, they would have had time to adjust to it.
"When we went to the meeting we thought they were going to tell us the place had been sold because we knew it had been on the market because several workmates had seen it on the internet," Mrs McLachlan said.
She said she had been warned by a friend from another rest home in Masterton of the impending news the previous day, because the health board was already looking for beds for the Titoki residents.
She said all of her co-workers felt the same way about their early dismissal.
"They're all the same. Gutwrenching (sic), horrified, and disgusted," she said.
Mrs McLachlan said Joanne and Ian Steele told staff they had lost everything.
"Why hadn't they told us earlier. They have known for six months," she said.
"The DHB must have known too, because they hadn't been referring any patients over the last 12 months," she said.
To add insult to injury, she says none of the staff have received the two weeks wages they are contractually promised if their employment is prematurely terminated.
Sacked Titoki staff speak out
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