MOTHERS are protesting after a York swimming pool's much-loved crche staff were replaced by employees from the closed Barbican Centre.

The mothers say their children loved attending the crche at Edmund Wilson Baths, while they went for a swim or a workout in the gym, because it was so well run by the two women.

They are very unhappy because the pair have lost their jobs through the redeployment of staff from the Barbican, which has shut pending a refurbishment.

They say they are also upset about proposed changes to the way the crche is run, such as a new rule preventing parents from coming inside when handing over their children.

They claim some of the new staff had indicated to them that they had not wanted to transfer to Edmund Wilson.

One mother, Karen Hall, from Acomb, who said she left her two-year-old daughter Sarah at the crche three times a week while she went swimming or to the gym, said: "I feel the staff have been treated disgracefully. They had a great working relationship and knew the children really well."

Another, Sue Batty, said she and her one-year-old daughter Catherine had liked the previous crche staff so much that they had carried on going there four times a week, even after they had moved to Garforth, Leeds.

Another mother, Christine Johnson, said she was not criticising the professionalism of the new staff, but felt the whole matter had been badly handled by the council.

But a City of York Council spokeswoman said the staff redeployment had taken place with full consultation with crche staff and management at both sites, the council's human resources department and the union, and was in line with the authority's redeployment procedures.

She said council policy dictated that the Barbican creche staff, who had permanent part-time contracts, had priority over Edmund Wilson staff, who had resigned in February and agreed to work on a casual basis until such time as the Barbican staff transferred.

"Both staff were aware that the Barbican was closing and that the staff would be moving over to Edmund Wilson," she added.

At Edmund Wilson, it was usual to allow parents into the creche area, while this had not happened at the Barbican.

She said: "This procedure is now under review for the benefit of both parents and children."

She said alternative employment at Edmund Wilson had been considered by the staff to be their best option and an acceptable redeployment opportunity.

A council spokesman said comments by Barbican staff that they had not wanted to be at Edmund Wilson had been misunderstood, as they had simply meant they did not want to be there on that particular day under those circumstances.

Updated: 08:31 Friday, November 12, 2004