Belfast Council is to look at support for an 11.75 percent pay rise for Belfast leisure centre workers.
At the council's monthly meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, elected members agreed to a report and a meeting looking into the pay claim, after a motion supporting the rise by Councillor Fiona Ferguson of the People Before Profit Party.
At the committee the DUP and the Alliance Party voiced scepticism about the pay rise, but a report and meeting on the matter received cross party support.
The PBP motion urges the council “recognises and appreciates the remarkable role that our leisure workers have played in keeping services running during very difficult services the past year and more, notes that these workers have been substantially underpaid for years and have not had any pay uplift since 2018, and further notes that since the outsourcing of leisure services there remains a serious pay legacy issue regarding staff who have TUPE’d over to Greenwich Leisure Ltd.”
It adds the council “supports the joint pay claim submitted by Unite the Union and NIPSA, calling for a 11.75% increase for Belfast City Council terms and conditions members and a 15.75% increase for Castlereagh Borough terms and conditions members, to address retrospective pay legacy issues.”
It also instructs the council to host a “specific meeting as soon as is reasonably possible, that is open to representatives from all parties, and also includes council management, GLL management and trade union representatives, in order to discuss this pay claim.”
Social Enterprise company Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL), operating under the brand “Better,” runs over 250 sport and leisure facilities and libraries on behalf of local authorities across the UK.
PBP Councillor Fiona Ferguson told the committee: “This is a legacy issue from privatisation of our leisure services. That’s recognised by the workers and their union who approached us to bring this motion, and we were very happy to do that.
“We think there is a responsibility on us, as since this council privatised leisure services it has left a disparity in pay for different workers, and we think that is an untenable situation.”
DUP Alderman Brian Kingston asked for a report from council officers on the matter. He said: “I don’t think the motion explains the full circumstances, and I would like to get clarity. I understand this relates to former Belfast City Council staff who were TUPE’d over to GLL, and then on a higher salary that directly employed GLL staff who were doing the same job.
“Before we adopt a position, People Before Profit will have to explain how their proposals would be paid for. It's always popular to say we will give a wage increase - we will also have to say what that will mean. Would leisure centre fees then be increased? Or are they proposing that Belfast City Council will have to increase its payment to GLL?”
He added: “It has to be remembered our GLL contract has delivered around two million pounds annually savings to the council ,which is financing our ongoing leisure transformation programme.”
Councillor Ferguson replied: ““It always seems to be unpopular with the DUP to make pay demands. When this is coming from the workers, it is not just something being used to curry favour. It is a responsibility for us to recognise there is a legacy issue, and an onus on us to resolve it.
“Where will the money come from? The point of the meeting is to find a resolution to this problem, to find whether some of that money needs to come from the council, and whether some needs to come from GLL.”
She added: “In terms of making savings - those savings have been made at the expense of workers, their terms, their pay, and services in this city, and that is recognised by communities, workers and unions.”
Alliance Councillor Michael Long said: “How can we agree to the first part of the motion, in terms of how it can be agreed, until we have the meeting? I am happy enough to have the meeting to discuss that.
“But there is an implication that if we are going to do this we will have to change the level of the (district) rate, and People Before Profit haven't actually made any comments on the rate. Are they for the increase? How do they intend paying for any of this?”
He added: “We have just seen the Avoniel leisure centre opened in the last few weeks, in addition to the Lisnasharragh Centre and the Andersonstown centre, which are all financed by having this social enterprise involved. It is important to recognise the positives that have come from that.”
