Leisure centres in Kirklees are at risk as the council looks to address its budget shortfall, UNISON is warning.
The union has been told by Kirklees Active Leisure that it is planning to make 235 redundancies across five of the centres it runs on behalf of the council, as well as its head office.
The proposed leisure centre cuts come on the back of last week’s council cabinet meeting, which discussed the possibility of closing care homes.
Kirklees Council has already announced it will be axing 250 jobs by March as it tries to deal with a £20m funding gap.
The union says the cuts demonstrate the real-life impact of years of underfunding local government and urged ministers to step in.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Robin Symonds said: “There’s now a real sense of what council cuts could mean for the people of Kirklees.
“Jobs are going, care homes face closure and now leisure centres are at risk.
“It’s local residents who will suffer as the council tries to deal with the fallout from over a decade of government underfunding.
“Worryingly, more vital services and jobs could be at risk unless the government intervenes with the lifeline of significant extra funding.”
