Strike action and industrial dispute at Tower Hamlets leisure centres

That this House expresses solidarity with members of Unite the Union taking strike action at Tower Hamlets’ public leisure centres; notes that workers have been waiting for over two years for in-house contracts to be issued after the commitment to insourcing rightly made by Tower Hamlets Council in May 2024; further notes that these workers have since been left faced with precarious work, inconsistent shifts, reports of unwritten contracts and owed wages; is concerned about the impact of this dispute on the health and wellbeing of these frontline workers; is further concerned about the services’ stability and safety for local residents; is alarmed by reports that workers are being expected to undertake work in unsafe and unsanitary conditions; believes that these leisure centre workers should have in-sourced contracts issued with fair terms and conditions, as promised; further believes that access to safe local swimming facilities are vital for physical health and mental wellbeing and tackling health inequalities; therefore, calls on Tower Hamlets council to engage constructively with Unite the Union to find a solution to this dispute, treating workers and trade union representatives with dignity and respect, and uphold commitments to reaching a just agreement; and further calls on the Government to make additional funding available to local authorities to address systemic inequalities in pay, conditions, and precarity of work for leisure centre workers.