Éirígí Encourages Support For Striking Leisure Workers
Local leisure centre workers in Belfast commenced industrial action today, Wednesday 23rd May. The strike action comes after 97% of those balloted voted in favour of industrial action. Éirígí welcomes strike action and joined striking workers on the picket line.
Belfast City Council handed over the leisure services to Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) back in 2014 and since that date services and standards for both staff and service users continue to decline. Despite being a not for profit organisation GLL is a British company and there are no restrictions put in place to prevent profits from our leisure services being invested back in to Belfast centres as opposed to GLL owned businesses in Britain which appears to be one of the reasons our leisure centres our struggling.
After liaising with staff an Éirígí spokesperson has said that “conditions for workers are nothing short of ridiculous.”
“Many of the staff working in these leisure centres are long time staff and have provided an invaluable service to our community for many years. Staff who have left are not being replenished adding to further strain on existing staff, equipment is not being upgraded or maintained, fitness suites are being left unmanned. Any staff that GLL has hired are on lesser contracts as when the service was under Belfast City Council. Targets are also being imposed on staff to include the number of new members a leisure centre can sign up on a monthly basis.”
“Even the café in Andersonstown leisure centre has been closed by GLL, a café that was used as a social space by the local community, because it wasn’t generating enough money.”
“Leisure services just like our libraries and other public services should not be seen as profit making bodies but rather as essential services to our community providing low cost or free services to improve our standard of living, our health and our mind.”
“Austerity and the failed puppet administration in Stormont has resulted in the cutting of these public services, we as a community need to continually resist each cut, Éirígí will continue to play its part.”