Hotel workers in Melbourne air Valentine blues
Melbourne hotel workers are up in arms as prospects of work overload loom anew on Valentine's Day.
A planned protest action is even in the works on the same day for some staff currently employed by the Hilton South Wharf Hotel in the city, which the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) said would be staged to air complaints of insufficient time and pay given to hotel workers, specifically during special occasions such as the February 14 lovers' celebrations.
One room attendant of the hotel complained that Valentine's for them means loads of work such as cleaning up the mess on rooms left behind by occupants with little time allotted to spruce up the usual disarrays that confront cleaning workers.
The attendant doesn't mind at all the trash strewn all over the room once guests check out of their room, insisting that they were used to clean after crashed flowers, spilled champagne and bed stains, but more of the haste required by hotel management from staff in fixing the mess.
A maximum of only 15 minutes are given to cleaners in tidying up a room, according to LMHU state secretary Jess Walsh, yet such task, the union said, needs at least 45 minutes to be accomplished appropriately.
Walsh said that hotels usually make a killing during occasions such as Valentine's yet hotel management dodge away from paying extra by allotting too little time on cleaning rooms, which he stressed could lead to hygiene issues that could affect hotel guests.
However, Hilton Hotel general manager Michael Bourne scored the union for refusing to discuss with management its claims, which he said has been circulating for quite some time.
Bourne has assured that a discussion with representatives of LMHU concerning their grievances is a welcome prospect for him, insisting too that hotel management proudly treats its staff very well.
The hotel manager also downplayed the union allegations that workers were given too much work on special occasions as he stressed that Hilton is mainly frequented by attendees of conventions and corporate functions and not much of couples celebrating Valentine's.