Leisure centres should be for people, not profit

From the beginning of 2015, leisure centres formerly managed by Belfast City Council have been outsourced to Greenwich Leisure Limited. Although GLL is registered as a charitable social enterprise and claims to reinvest its surplus back into service provision, the company is winning an ever increasing number of contracts by slashing wages, staffing and training while paying its directors exorbitantly.  
Unite’s members took strike action to defeat a GLL threat to downgrade workers’ pensions.

From the beginning of 2015, leisure centres formerly managed by Belfast City Council have been outsourced to Greenwich Leisure Limited. Although GLL is registered as a charitable social enterprise and claims to reinvest its surplus back into service provision, the company is winning an ever increasing number of contracts by slashing wages, staffing and training while paying its directors exorbitantly.

GLL is now present in over 40 UK councils and employs more than 8,500 staff, approximately 70% of whom are on zero-hour contracts.

Since taking over the Belfast leisure facilities, there have been repeated warnings that cuts are resulting in health and safety risks that could impact on service users, e.g. the use of untrained poolside lifeguards and staffing levels below emergency evacuation. In May 2016, Unite’s members took strike action to defeat a GLL threat to downgrade workers’ pensions. The shutdown was total across the city and management quickly reversed course. But the cost-cutting agenda has continued apace, with a two-tier workforce developing between former council employees, and newly recruited staff. The closure and reopening of Andersonstown leisure centre with existing staff replaced by lower-paid new recruits will extend the two-tier workforce structure.

GLL’s price hikes have excluded users in many deprived areas and led to the likes of Avoniel leisure centre becoming the preserve of the well-to-do.  Last week, GLL corner-cutting was again highlighted by Unite who exposed a failure to drain a pool after a diarrhoea episode, and then a separate incident where a pool was reopened while shallow following draining. The long-term solution must be for Belfast City Council to end their austerity-led outsourcing and instead invest in improving the quality of leisure services.

Total
0
Shares
Previous Article

Save Our Youth Centres

Next Article

Corbyn Can Beat the Tories! Mass campaigning approach needed

Related Posts
Read More

No cuts to Léargas – The Irish language can’t afford Capitalism/Seasaimis in éadan Chiorruithe ar Léargas – Ní hAcmhainn don Chaipitleachas an Ghaeilge

Tá ciorruithe tromchúiseach in ndán don chlár Ghaeilge Léargas, a chuireann múinteoirí Gaeilge ar fáil do 15 bunscoil Béarla san Iarthuaisceart,. Deir Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, an eagraíocht a chuireann Léargas ar fáil, "ta díoma agus fearg an domhain orainn go gcaillfidh 1,600 páiste an seans rang Gaeilge uair an chloig gach seachtain a bheith acu" i ráiteas s'acu ar líne faoi dheireadh á chur leis an mhaoiniú.
Read More

Nurses to strike in the South

In the South, the Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation (INMO) has planned a 24-hour strike on 30 January with a further 5 dates in early February. This strike has been a long time coming and would be only the second national strike in the hundred year history of the INMO.