August 29, 2007

Born on the picket-line

Hotel waitress Alone Ngaro's new son will have a story to tell about his birth - he's been born nearly a month into one of the most vicious lockouts of recent times.

Ngaro is one of twelve low-wage workers at the Airport Gateway Hotel in Auckland who have been told they can't come back to work until they drop their demands for a collective agreement and accept the rate the hotel management has set.

This is despite the fact the company is currently under investigation by the Department of Labour for paying its workers less than the minimum wage and may be facing a Human Rights Commission case for sacking another worker for getting pregnant.

Ngaro says the lockout has left her worried about how she'll look after her son.

"It's very hard being locked out with a new baby. This is a very stressful time for me and my family and it's made harder by not having money to pay the bills."

Unite organiser Daphna Whitmore represents Ngaro and her co-workers and says the hotel's management have been extremely aggressive.

"These workers haven't asked for much but they've been met with a manager who would rather starve them out than pay them anything approaching a living wage.

"This manager will eventually come unstuck because he's breaking the law at every turn but while the wheels of justice turn our members are really suffering. They were already on disgraceful wages, but now they've got nothing and it'll take months if not years for them to recover financially from this."

So far the hotel has employed illegal strike breakers, harassed staff to leave the union and attempted to serve union delegates with unlawful trespass notices.

Locked out workers and their supporters are picketing at 206 Kirkbride Rd, Mangere, from 10am to 6pm seven days a week.

ENDS

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