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Group fitness managers at Fitness and Lifestyle Group's Fitness First and Goodlife Health Clubs, with the support of the United Workers Union (UWU), have secured victory in a longstanding wage dispute.

The staff at clubs in the two chains gained the support of the UWU after Fitness and Lifestyle Group (FLG) management announced an organisational change as of August last year which would have seen lower pay for many instructors and a new scheduling regime with less flexible work hours.

However, with a UWU online petition - highlighting that staff in both groups had been paid at the same rate, $42.50 per class for the past 15 years - winning the support of thousands when it went viral, FLG management changed tack.

While instructors' pay plateaued for a decade-and-a-half, customer's gym fees were increasing alongside income for parent company.

After reportedly having previously rejected calls for negotiation, FLG agreed a deal within weeks of the petition going live and increased staff pay by between 6 and 8%.

Noting that the pay issue had forced the instructors into unionising to confront FLG as a group, UWU Director, Godfrey Moase told Daily Mail Australia "fitness workers across Australia had been labouring under wage stagnation for many years and in response, they came together and joined their union.

"The cohort of group fitness instructors working for FLG, which owns both Fitness First and Goodlife gyms, had begun organising and as part of that launched a petition which gained traction very quickly.

"FLG bosses had flat out refused to entertain a pay rise but as a result of organising efforts and within two weeks of the petition going live, the company made an improved wage offer, which is a huge win for the workers."

Moase added that the dispute is "not over yet" and the union will "continue to be guided on next steps by workers."

The notoriously media shy FLG has not released a statement on the matter.

While workers in the leisure industry are traditionally non-unionised, in 2016 the Australian Workers Union did launch the Swim Instructors Association (SIA) in response to underpayment of wages.

Click here to visit the UWU's page promoting itself as the "union for health and fitness professionals". 

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