Staff at the Grand Chancellor Airport hotel took strike action on May 29 in protest at a miserly pay offer from the employer. The majority of union members at the Grand Chancellor get little more than the minimum wage. A significant number are on the absolute minimum. This is one of the lowest paying hotels in Auckland. The union claim is for pay rates on a par with similar hotels.
However the company offered a zero percent pay rise for grade 1 staff with less than a year’s service. Even staff with longer service are being offered rates of less than $12 an hour.
The hotel is owned by a multinational company Hotel Grand Central Limited. It operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. In the last year it had a net profit margin of 46.95% and investors in the company got a 14.54% return. Meanwhile many of the workers live on the poverty line and have no guaranteed hours of work. Staff are “on call” in the hope of getting more hours offered but receive no on-call allowance. Other conditions, like sick leave, are just the bare minimum required by law.
The picket at Grand Chancellor was boosted by Centra workers at the hotel next door who were also taking strike action. Some off-duty staff from Gateway Hotel across the road joined too in solidarity.