Completed petition Stop outsourcing at the Plas Menai National Outdoor Centre for Wales

Sport Wales has invited tenders for an external organisation to take over the running of its National Outdoor Activities Centre at Plas Menai, near Caernarfon, including the employment of its staff, and we are concerned about what this might mean for employees and the activities they provide. Previous experience suggests that outsourcing does not benefit staff, quality of service or the taxpayer.

We call on the Welsh Government to stop this process and keep Plas Menai in the public sector.

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Plas Menai offers a range of courses, activity days and personal tuition in outdoor pursuits like sailing, windsurfing and mountain biking. For 40 years, it has made a major contribution to the outdoor activities sector in Wales, providing essential skills to individuals and groups. The reach of those who have worked in, and trained at, the Centre stretches across Europe and the world, which is testament to the Centre’s emphasis on providing the highest quality instruction and learning.

Plas Menai’s dedicated and highly skilled staff would be happy for Sport Wales to seek ways of improving the Centre and even to make use of external expertise in doing so. But they do not want this unique facility – and their own jobs – to be handed over to a new provider, which could put profit ahead of any commitment to public service and fair employment practices. They are also concerned that a change of provider might compromise the Centre’s ability to provide services through the medium of Welsh.

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