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Eduardo Caffarena (left) and Bradley Roberts |
Labour calls fault in tennis row
OPPOSITION leaders on Westminster City Council have picked up the baton for the embattled Paddington tennis coaches who say they have been forced out of
their jobs .
The Labour group is accusing the council of “wrecking the livelihoods” of three coaches, Bradley Roberts, Eduardo Caffarena and Nicolas Marinopouos, after introducing new contracts at Paddington Recreation Ground in August.
In defence of the new deal, which amounts to a steep rise in court fees unless the coaches agree to more cut-price sessions, the council says it is trying to smash the sport’s elitist image.
The plight of the coaches has divided opinion, with many clients joining the fight to keep the long-serving coaches, while others are pleased the courts are being freed up for those who couldn’t previously afford lessons.
At last month’s full council meeting Labour councillors handed a 300-signature petition from residents protesting at the way the coaches had been treated.
Labour group leader Paul Dimoldenberg said: “The way in which these three long-standing tennis coaches have been treated is an absolute disgrace. The council knows the coaches have the support of all those who they have taught and yet the council continues to ignore what these satisfied customers say. I have never seen such an injustice. The coaches have had their business and livelihoods destroyed by a council that does not even have the decency to tell the truth. I urge the council to think again and to review this crazy decision which has caused so much misery to the three tennis coaches and the hundreds of local residents who now cannot get tennis coaching from the people they trust most and whose help they really value.”
Councillor Audrey Lewis, cabinet member for customers and neighbourhoods said: “This is about making tennis more accessible for people who love the game but perhaps cannot afford to pay the higher prices for private lessons, as well as ensuring the quality of coaching provision.” |
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