Vitamina group school has massive layoffs in SP – 08/17/2023 – Education

The First Step children’s school, in Paraíso, south of São Paulo, may close its doors next Monday (21), according to the director of the unit and parents of the students.

This is because 5 of the 14 employees at the site resigned due to non-payment of labor benefits and salary arrears, among other problems.

The unit was bought almost three years ago by the Chilean group Vitamina, which has accumulated a series of problems since arriving in Brazil in 2019.

The group bought 37 preschools, most of them in São Paulo. However, four years later, the operation in the country accumulates debts with suppliers, former owners and even teachers.

Questioned, Vitamina’s advisory said it would only manifest itself this Friday (18).

Vitamina arrived in Brazil with financial support from the Peninsula, from Abílio Diniz’s family. The project was to reach more than one hundred schools in the country. Peninsula’s relationship with the group began to have problems, however, and the Brazilian investment fund withdrew from the business in the middle of last year.

In May, the Sheet showed that a unit purchased by the group in Brooklin (also in the south of the city) closed its doors without notifying the parents.

At the Paraíso unit, of the 14 professionals from different areas of the school, 5 are behind on salaries, according to the principal, who asked not to be named. Benefits such as FGTS (Guarantee Fund for Length of Service) and transport vouchers were also not paid, according to the professional and students’ parents.

The father of a student received, last Tuesday (15), a statement from the school principal. In the text, the director says that she was resigning “for not agreeing with everything that is happening”.

Another statement warns that a meeting with parents that was scheduled for this Thursday (17) and an event that would take place on Saturday (19) were cancelled.

Businessman João Paulo Turcato has one-year-old twin daughters who stay in the school’s nursery. He said he was outraged by the situation.

“What’s happening is absurd. The director is great, we have an open channel at the school, but she doesn’t have autonomy or conditions to solve this. We want a position from the person responsible for the Vitamina group. We want the school working properly for the community.”

Parents do not rule out calling the Public Ministry to monitor the situation and assess the conduct of the educational group. According to them, the unit responds to lawsuits for late payment of rent and also for debts with suppliers who carried out renovations in the building.

A civil servant, mother of a four-year-old student, said that Wednesday (16) was her son’s last day at the unit. She and her husband are working part-time, even without their employers’ permission, to take turns caring for the boy.

The director told the report that, in addition to her, five other employees resigned because of constant problems and lack of information from Vitamina about possible solutions. She points out that even with the problems, the unit still works and that the pedagogical part and the children’s food were not impacted.

Primeiro Passo has existed for 40 years and currently serves 40 students from 0 to 5 years old. The monthly fee costs around BRL 2,600 part-time and BRL 3,000 full-time.