A surge in hotel strikes over the past month is giving a solid base for the launch of Unite Union’s hotel campaign this month.
Hotel staff may work in luxurious surroundings but they are paid poverty wages. It’s as if two worlds exist and much of what the guests see is just an illusion. The pristine hotel room appears as if no one has ever been there before, yet moments earlier a cleaner has been under enormous pressure to make it spotless. An average room goes for $300 a night, but the woman who worked frantically for 20 minutes getting it ready for the next guest is paid the equivalent of $5 a room. To get through her workload she probably skipped her tea breaks.
Beyond the ‘front of house’ with beautiful foyers and plush rooms is a ‘back of house’ that is often rundown and grimy. The hotel owners, stationed in Singapore, Hong Kong or London show little regard for the people who are the backbone of the whole industry – the cleaners, the laundry and kitchen staff. Most are employed as ‘part timers’ to be rostered in whatever erratic pattern suits the running of the hotel. How much will be in next week’s pay packet is uncertain. How people survive is just as difficult to fathom.
Some survive by working two jobs, like the woman who works at a North Shore hotel from 7am until 5pm and then cleans offices in the central city from 6pm to 9pm.
For two decades hotel workers’ wages have not kept pace with inflation. In many cases working conditions have worsened and overtime rates and transport allowances have disappeared.
Last year Unite’s supersize campaign for fastfood workers showed how a small union could make a big impact by leading lightening strikes and seeking public support. This year Unite is focusing on making a difference for hotel workers. On March 8th we are launching the hotel wakeup campaign. During a two-hour paid stopwork meeting hotel workers will tour the city’s main hotels. At street meetings outside the hotels staff will talk about their experiences working in luxury hotels on poverty wages.