Hotel workers threaten ban over violence

Press, 23 July 1986, Page 8

Hotel workers threaten ban over violence

PA Rotorua North Island hotel workers this week decided not to continue working if violence breaks out in their bars. About 60 hotel workers from Auckland to Wellington agreed at a conference in Rotorua that hotel management should be asked to close bars the moment violence occurred. “If this is not done we will withdraw our labour till the problem is re-

solved,” said a member of a sub-committee formed to prepare policy resulting from the conference discussions. According to the subcommittee, increasing violence in hotels has become a serious issue to hotel workers. Barely a day went by when there was not an instance of violence in a hotel. “It is getting to the stage where people have been killed, it can not get much worse,” said Ms Anne Jones, of Auckland. “We (hotel workers) are the front line facing the fire and the curbing of violence is not our responsibility,” she said. Conference delegates said hotel workers should

not be left in a position where they might be hurt as had happened in the past They believed their stand would be supported by the Hotel Association of New Zealand as its members were just as worried about the growing problem. The growth of violence and pornography in hotel bars was discussed at length. A spokesman said the union was disturbed by the increase in both forms of behaviotin Among the examples of pornography was the number of wet T-shirt competitions for women. He said the two-day conference would also study the ownership of the hotel industry.