UK Newsquest Regional Press – This is Local London
February 4, 2005

Furore as advice centre staff axed

by Estelle Marais

MORE than 6 000 of Hounslow’s Armenian residents risk losing their
information and advice outlet after their community centre
temporarily closed last week and dismissed all full-time staff due to
funding and budget issues.

The Centre for Armenian Information and Advice (CAIA)in Acton closed
its doors to the community on Friday January 21 for one week after a
board of directors elected in October 2004 cited that the charity had
“inherited an unsustainable budget as a direct result of excessive
expenditure incurred by the previous board” and that there were
insufficient funds to enable CAIA to operate in its current position.

Directors dismissed the centre’s five full-time members of staff
including the qualified youth worker the information and advice
officer and the charity’s elderly lunch manager leaving over 6000 of
the borough’s Armenian community including elderly members – many of
whom do not speak English – without access to information regarding
health benefits housing and education.

The centre is currently running on a skeleton staff consisting of the
present board of directors and volunteers in an attempt to continue
some of its services.

But former CAIA employees insist that the charity was handed over to
the new board of directors in a healthy state not lacking in funding
in any way and argue that the staff dismissals are the result of an
initiative by the board to re-instate two employees who were
dismissed in March last year for gross misconduct.

Former chair and Osterley resident Manook Soghomonian said: “Five
professional staff have been dismissed with some bogus excuses that
do not tally up and as a result services and the functionality of the
centre has stopped. There was more than enough funding for the posts
and the centre was in a very healthy state. When we handed CAIA over
to the new board new grants were due to come in.

“All of the projects are running effectively and our current funders
were satisfied with the work we were doing on behalf of our members
and the community. The only reason for dismissing the staff is so
that the board can re-instate two employees who were dismissed for
gross misconduct last year but who claim they are innocent of any
wrong doing.”

Chiswick resident and former general secretary Andre Beglarian agreed
saying: “As far as I was aware there was sufficient funding to keep
the centre running as it had been all along. It was my job to monitor
the funding and it was my understanding that all five full-time
positions were fully catered for by our various funders. I have used
the centre for the last five years and it used to be a fantastic
opportunity for Armenians to mix in their own community as well as
for our children to be educated in an Armenian Ofsted-accredited
pre-school environment. The situation at the centre now is corrupt.
It is being abused by a few and as a result the masses cannot
benefit. The centre was closed when it didn’t need to be and the
community lost out and are still losing out.”

However chair of CAIA Vahe Paklayan refuted these claims saying:
“Dismissing the staff was an agonising decision and because the
charity was left to us in such a mess we are not able to build it up
brick by brick we are rebuilding it match stick by match stick. We
are not looking to blame staff our concern is just to save the
charity. All funding has been frozen and the centre is currently
being manned by our board of directors and some volunteers. Areas
which require qualified people are being manned by the proper
people.”

Replying to claims that the staff dismissals were aimed at
re-instating the two members of staff previously dismissed for gross
misconduct Mr Paklayan said: “There is no truth to that at all.”

The funders for the five full-time positions at CAIA include the
London Boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing Associated London Government
(ALG) the Big Lottery Fund City Parochial Foundation Bridge House and
Renewal SRB and with the exception of City Parochial Foundation
spokespeople for each funding company confirmed that funds were and
had been available to cater for the positions.

A spokesperson for the London Borough of Ealing said: “At the moment
we are unsure of the situation with CAIA and we have been trying to
contact the centre without any success. The council has heard along
the grapevine that staff have been dismissed and as our funds
contribute mainly to the advice work at the centre there is a
possibility that the grant may be suspended when it comes up for
discussion at the end of this month.”

Bridge House which funds the position of elderly health worker said
that funding for the post was available but had not yet been released
and City Parochial Foundation which funds the position of general
secretary said that the grant awarded in 2003 had been suspended in
the last few weeks and is currently under investigation.

CAIA is the only outlet for an estimated 20 000 Armenians living in
the UK 16 000 of whom live in London.

Its services are widely used throughout the borough of Hounslow but
in the last few years the centre has been hit with a series of
management problems.

In 2003 two employees were suspended for mismanagement and
subsequently applied to the employment tribunal for charges of unfair
dismissal and in January 2004 the Charity Commission began an
investigation into the allegations of misconduct at CAIA appointing
four new directors to the centre including Mr Soghomonian as chair to
oversee the decision of the tribunal.

Mr Soghomonian accused the Charity Commission of turning a blind eye
to the current situation saying: “CAIA won the case of gross
misconduct against the two employees at the employment tribunal and
we presented fortnightly reports to the Charity Commission on the
developments at the centre until the new board of directors took
charge in October last year. Ever since the centre has been in
turmoil. It would be wrong for CAIA to reinstate these two people
which is what I believe they want to do and the Charity Commission
seems to be oblivious to this.”

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “The Commission’s
Inquiry into the charity closed in October 2004. The Inquiry was
closed upon an Annual General Meeting and elections taking place in
accordance with the charity’s governing document and with company
law. The elections provided the charity’s members with an opportunity
to elect a new Board of Directors to the charity. Since the elections
the new Board has had control of the administration of the charity.
The Commission’s report of the results of its Inquiry will be
published shortly.

The Commission has considered and will consider concerns arising
since the closure of the Inquiry in connection with this charity.”