Plans to introduce a “self-service environment” at the council’s three leisure centres could nearly half the number of reception staff if they go ahead.
The roles of 19 staff at East Ham, Balaam and Newham leisure centres would be at risk of redundancy under the proposal for a “blended service” of staff and machines, with just nine new concierge roles available.
Those at risk of redundancy would also have the option of taking up a role in the activeNewham call centre or any other available internal posts, according to plans outlined in a consultation that runs until the end of next month.
A spokesman for activeNewham, which operates the centres, stressed the proposal was not aiming to create a “wholly staffless” model as evidenced in other popular local health centres.
He added: “This proposal is intended to redesign the way we provide customer services at the leisure centres.
“It is not proposed to simply replace people with machines, rather developing our customer-facing services to best suit the needs of the centre users.”
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