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Staff in some of Auckland's finest hotels are refusing to clean up after guests who leave rooms severely soiled. About 30 room attendants at three Millennium hotels have placed a ban on cleaning up "bodily fluids" left by guests, claiming they should be paid extra for the unpleasant task.
Their union, Unite, is backing the claim for what's known as "dirt money", saying such payments are an accepted practice in the industry.
Unite organiser Daphna Whitmore said the hotels - the Copthorne in Anzac Ave, the Copthorne Harbour City and the Kingsgate in Parnell - refused to pay workers extra for cleaning badly soiled rooms.
Drunk guests had defecated in beds and urinated in the corners of bedrooms, and one worker reported a used condom stuck to a wall.
"Some people behave strangely in hotels," said Whitmore.
One attendant, who did not want to be named, told the Herald On Sunday the state of some rooms was so bad it made her want to vomit.
Excrement was left in beds, bathtubs and on carpets.
She had been confronted by blood in one room and described some of the guests as "pigs". She said one room could not be used for three weeks because the smell was so bad. And she said she had received no training or equipment to deal with the mess, but would clean the rooms if she was paid more money.
Another attendant said used toilet paper, tampons and condoms were left on the floor in some rooms. She said it happened "nearly every week".
"It's really disgusting. It nearly makes us faint when we have to clean the toilets. We only come in to make the beds and change the towels, this is too much. It's not part of the job."
She said she had been given training and gloves and would clean such rooms if paid extra.
Whitmore said the hotels charged extra when guests left a room in such a state, but none of this was passed on to attendants, whose starting wage was $12 an hour.
She said there was a "long tradition" of workers being paid extra when faced with particularly messy rooms, with sums of $20-$50 common. "Our position is, these people are room attendants. They're not employed to handle bodily fluids. It's not a regular cleaning job."
The union tells its members they must have been properly trained in how to handle body fluids, have adequate equipment, including gloves, disposable waterproof aprons, and masks, and be paid extra.
Millennium Hotels said staff were trained in how to handle bodily fluids.
They are advised to use gloves and plastic bags to dispose of condoms and blood/bodily fluids. Tongs are to be used to pick up syringes, which are disposed of in approved sharps containers. The head of department or supervisor are to be notified. Whitmore said some staff were unaware of the training. They were supplied with gloves but no plastic aprons.
In a statement Millennium Hotels said: "Approximately once a year our hotels encounter an instance where a guest room has been severely soiled.
"Our hotel management are clear that they have not and will not force any staff member to [clean excessively soiled guest rooms].
"It is usual practice for members of the management or supervisory team to attend to these matters".
Hospitality Association president Bill McLean said under nationally negotiated agreements preceding the Employment Contracts Act, allowances were made for extra duties staff had to undertake.
He could not comment on the situation now because agreements were mostly between employers and employees and kept confidential.
