BELFAST leisure centre workers will take part in a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in protest over pay.
They are seeking a £1 an hour increase to the current pay offer.
Talks ended without management company Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) making any improved pay offer
Unite and NIPSA trade unions have now announced a 24-hour strike by leisure staff at facilities operated by GLL in Belfast.
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 the North following the decision to outsource them to GLL. Belfast leisure worker pay is now the lowest in the North.
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.”
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.”
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.”
