Belfast leisure centre workers to take 24-hour strike action
In a joint statement, the trade unions Unite and Nipsa said Belfast leisure workers are the lowest paid in Northern Ireland.
They said they are seeking a £1 an hour increase to the current pay offer, but they said talks ended with management company Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) without an improved pay offer.
Unite and Nipsa said a 24-hour strike will be carried out by leisure staff at the 14 leisure centres and two gyms operated by GLL in Belfast.
The strike is to commence at 00.01 on August 12 and continue until midnight.
It is expected to 'shut down entirely' the operation of several leisure centres, with more than 200 leisure workers currently members of two trade unions.
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,' she said.
'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.'
Nipsa spokesperson Janette Murdock added: '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.'
A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: 'GLL manage and run leisure centres across the city on behalf of Council. GLL is a social enterprise that reinvests all profits back into the centres and all operational matters, including those relating to pay, are under its remit.
'Council is committed to working with GLL and its employees on the continued provision of leisure services in the city.'
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