Joint UNITE-NIPSA press release

Belfast leisure workers are lowest paid in Northern Ireland and are seeking a one pound an hour increase to the current pay offer 

Talks ended without management company Greenwich Leisure Limited making any improved pay offer

Unite and NIPSA trade unions have announced a 24-hour strike by leisure staff at facilities operated by Green Leisure Limited in Belfast.

14 leisure centres and two gyms owned by Belfast City Council are operated by the arms-length management company. The strike will commence at 00.01 on Tuesday August 12 and continue until midnight. The industrial action is likely to shut down entirely the operation of several leisure centres, given that more than 200 leisure workers are members of two trade unions.

Pay at Belfast leisure centres has fallen behind that of other council leisure facilities in Northern Ireland following the decision to outsource them to Greenwich Leisure Limited. Belfast leisure worker pay is now the lowest in Northern Ireland.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is deeply unfair that Belfast leisure workers are the lowest paid leisure workers in Northern Ireland. Workers who perform the same tasks and have the same responsibilities are paid significantly less than they would be in neighbouring councils. Belfast City Council’s decision to outsource services to GLL has proven disastrous not just for workers who are underpaid and overstretched but for the public who have endured hikes on charges.”

The strike follows an overwhelming ballot for industrial action by workers in both unions and represents an escalation from a work-to-rule which came into force on Tuesday 15 July. Labour Relations Agency-mediated negotiations between the trade unions and the employer ended on Wednesday 30 July, after management failed to provide any improved offer.

NIPSA spokesperson Janette Murdock said, “Leisure workers in the biggest council in Northern Ireland are the lowest paid in Northern Ireland. That has to end. Our members are seeking a one pound an hour increase to the current pay offer as a start on closing the gap. Our members will carry out a militant campaign of industrial action, until we get justice. Belfast City Councillors cannot wash their hands of responsibility for the pay gap facing leisure workers at council-owned leisure centres.”

Unite regional officer Kieran Ellison said, “GLL’s approach to its own workers in this pay negotiation has led to this escalation – they need to reflect on this and reverse course.”

ENDS...

For further information or to arrange an interview with trade union representatives contact Donal O’Cofaigh, Unite campaigns, communications & press (NI), tel. 07810 157926.