Staff try to oust Clubs committee

Staff facing redundancies during a sweeping restructure of the Clubs of Marlborough are hoping to oust the executive committee with a petition.

More than 50 workers have been asked to reapply for their jobs, or accept redundancy, at a meeting on Tuesday morning. It’s understood about 25 jobs will remain after the restructuring process is complete, and opening hours will be reduced.

Some of the workers have started a petition to remove the existing executive committee, saying they felt the restructuring process had been mishandled, and the committee should be held responsible for the Clubs’ financial troubles.

They were hoping to get 60 signatures from paying Clubs’ members, which they believed would be enough to force the current committee to step down.

The Clubs had been closed since lockdown started on March 25, as the committee said it was not economically viable to reopen under the restrictions of alert level 3 or 2, according to a letter sent to members last month.

But there had been minimal communication from the committee since the complex was closed at the start of lockdown, workers said, which left them feeling stressed and undervalued.

The restructuring announced on Tuesday had come as a shock.

The executive committee declined to answer questions when approached by Stuff on Tuesday, saying it was ‘‘a matter for members’’ and there would be no public statement. They could not be reached before publication yesterday.

A woman who spoke on the condition of anonymity said workers were ‘‘tired of being kept in the dark’’ and ‘‘treated like naughty children’’.

‘‘People are up in arms, the club is the heart of the community and people deserve to know what’s going on.’’

The petition came from staff disapproval on how the restructuring process was handled, but also to hold the committee accountable for financial difficulties over the last several years, the woman said.

Chief executive Lee Davis had also called for the committee to reopen the Clubs as soon as possible to avoid making anyone redundant.

Davis had been told not to speak publicly during the restructuring process, but his wife Marie Davis said her husband had also been asked to reapply for his job or accept redundancy.

He was ‘‘gutted’’ that his 17 years at the Clubs could end this way, she said.

‘‘It’s like his baby . . . he’s so passionate about the Clubs.’’

Davis was with the Blenheim Workingmen’s Club when it amalgamated with the Marlborough Club and the RSA, and as chief executive of the new Clubs oversaw the construction of the new complex.

He had a difficult relationship with the president and committee, who tended to make decisions against Davis’ advice, his wife said.