|
"What are the entitlements and rates of pay for canteen
staff?"
WASCA does not employ staff appropriately qualified in the
area of industrial relations and therefore cannot provide
this information. There have been significant changes in the
area of industrial relations in the past eighteen months,
which has included the introduction of WorkChoice.
The Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DOCEP),
is the government body that provides accurate and up to date
advice on industrial relation matters. For more information,
the number for the DOCEP Wageline is 1300 655 266 or they
may be contacted at www.docep.wa.gov.au.
"We don't want to make a lot of money from our canteen,
but just want to break even. However, we lost money last year
and have continued to do so during this term. The P &
C has had to fundraise just to keep the canteen operating
as a service. Are you able to help us determine the problem?"
Firstly, there is no such thing in business as just 'breaking
even'. You should aim to make a small surplus, as you are
then far less likely to end up making a loss. Therefore, factoring
in a 5% 'profit' margin, is likely to result in the canteen
covering its costs, provided it is vigilant in monitoring
all overheads and stock costs and reviews these and prices
regularly.
There is usually no single factor responsible for a canteen
that has been profitable, suddenly losing money. It is far
more likely to be a combination of factors. WASCA has published
a 'check-list' of most likely reasons in newsletters in the
past. Click here to download a copy of the article, "
Why
aren't we making a profit?"
"Are the new national Food Safety Standards applicable
to our canteen as we only have one paid staff member and the
rest are volunteer workers?"
Yes, the Standards are applicable to all businesses that
sell food, including school canteens irrespective of whether
those who work in the canteen are paid workers or volunteers.
The Standards require all those who prepare food for resale
to have training commensurate with the level of activity.
This includes voluntary workers.
WASCA, on behalf of FOCiS, the national body representing
school canteens in all States and Territories, coordinated
the National School Canteen Food Safety Project funded by
the Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing. A resource
package consisting of a video and handbook titled 'Looking
after our Kids' was forwarded to every school in Australia
without cost in July and August 2002. This resource was produced
to help canteens to understand the new legislation and their
need to comply with it.
The package was developed specifically for school canteens
and was piloted in canteens in schools of all education systems
in each State and Territory. We recommend it to you as a resource
to help you to understand and comply with the Standards. If
your canteen has not received a package, we suggest you check
the library and other likely places in the school, such as
design and technology departments, before contacting us by
telephone (08) 9264 4999 or email wasca@det.wa.edu.au.
"We want to get rid of some of the 'junk food' that
our canteen sells, but are meeting lots of resistance. How
can we get started on this?"
If you are a Government school, you must comply with the Policy and Standards for Food and Drinks Sold in Public School Food Service. All food and drinks classified as RED must be phased out of the canteen. Schools should aim to be fully compliant with the Policy and Standards by Term 3, 2007. RED food and drinks should not be reordered in Term 2.
Rather than just tackling the menu and what is being sold
from the canteen, we recommend that you start by developing
a policy for the canteen, or by reviewing your policy if you
already have one. If your school has a health committee, this
could be a good project for the committee, but health coordinators,
physical education teachers and school nurses are also often
good allies for instigating change. By developing or reviewing
policy, it allows everyone within the school community to
put forward their ideas and the issue of what the canteen
sells will be discussed in a far less emotive manner. Policy
guidelines have been developed for the Government strategy.
|
