The Green Shed posted this on their Facebook page today:
To all our lovely, customers and the Canberra Community, today we received this letter below informing us that we were unsuccessful in our latest tender Application. I have just had to inform 84 staff that they will be unemployed come the 30th of May so as you can imagine we are all just a little devastated!
We will be continuing to support schools and other community groups on our donations list until we close but unfortunately we will be stopping our charity day fundraising as of today. Today we are presenting the ACT scouts with a check for 10k, this will bring the total to just over 2 million donated to charity by The Green Shed.
We are still trying to digest what has happened but feel both us and the hundreds of staff who have worked with TGS over the years can all hold their heads high as we believe we have all showed the world how it can be done.
Procurement ACT MR CHARLES BIGG-WITHER OWNER THE GREEN SHED 40 MASSON ST, TURNER ACT 2612 CHARLIEGREENSHED GS3538978 – THE PROVISION OF REUSABLE FACILITY SERVICES IN THE TERRITORY
Dear Charles, Thank you for submitting a response for the subject Tender. The ACT Government (Territory) regrets to advise that on this occasion your organisation has not been selected as the preferred Respondent.
The preferred Tenderer, The St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn Ltd, was assessed by the Evaluation Team as providing the Territory with a response that met all the specified criteria to the greatest degree as well as best overall value for money.
A public text version of the agreement will be published on the Territory’s Contracts Register.
If your organisation requires a debrief, please reply via email within 5 business days of receipt of this letter in order to arrange a suitable time.
Yours sincerely, DIRECTOR PROCUREMENT ACT 13/03/2024 Approach to Market GS3538978PROCUREMENT ACT
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I am pessimistic about this change. Given how pricey actual Vinnies shops have become and the possibility of good stuff getting diverted across a much broader network I suspect the chances of a bargain will decrease even further.
84 jobs gone. I really hope these folks land on their feet.
There’s an article on the riot act which has a quote from Vinnies in relation to this:
“They’ll have the opportunity to apply for jobs and join Vinnies, and we want as many people as possible to come and join the Vinnies family.”
I’ll note that’s not saying they will be employed by Vinnies, but hopefully at least some can continue. The article however also says the city shops are going to close so I expect there will be a reduction in job numbers due to that in addition to the potential of Vinnies bringing their own people in.
Yeah I saw that quote in another article. This feels all kinds of wrong. If I was a local I’d be up in arms. Having diversity among these providers should also be a priority. Not everyone wants to work for a religious charity.
(Not from ACT): Does this mean Green Shed is closing up completely, or just one location?
It sounds like the Green Shed company will close down, while the tip shops themselves (one at each of the two tip dropoff points) will continue operation under new management. The Green Shed also operates two more conventional shops in the city (selling better quality items picked from the shed collections) and these are apparently closing down as they will no longer have their main source of stock.
