Since raising the matter of unfit facilities at the Copthorne Hotel in Auckland with the HR manager, Daphna Whitmore, Unites hotels organiser has achieved some results.

The hotel has agreed to refurbish the toilets and changing rooms.

According the the HR manager Jean Garlick, "the maintenance team started work in the females changing room at 8am (Monday) morning and are hoping to have both changing rooms finished by the end of the week".

"They are removing and replacing any rotted boards / panels, removing mould, installing a new extractor fan (to help reduce the moisture build up) and painting all the surfaces," she said.

They have also replaced the toilet seat.

Unite believes that the staff facilities at hotels should be of an equal standard to that of the guest facilities.

Copthorne hotel a 4-star disgrace (previous story)

The Copthorne Hotel in Auckland's Anzac Avenue is a 4-star hotel with 110 recently refurbished rooms. The rooms are kept beautifully clean by staff who work very hard for very low wages.

The company made $24 million profit last year thanks to the hard work of the staff.

Yet the changing room and toilets for female staff at the Anzac Ave Copthorne Hotel would have to be among the worst in any hotel in New Zealand.

A Unite union official discovered the state of these facilities on 30 July 2008 and has notified the company that it needs to act immediately.

The mouldy, rotting room with disintegrating toilets and rusting lockers is not fit for human use, especially when compared to the pristine loos provided for hotel guests.

We’ll keep people posted on progress.