Hotel staff told to clean faster in bid to recoup wages cost

Hotel cleaning staff are being told to clean up to two thirds more bedrooms per shift as their employers try to make up for the cost incurred as a result of the increase in the minimum wage, the Siptu biennial conference in Cork has been told.

The union said the staff who previous would have been expected to clean 12 bedrooms over the course of a shift are now expected to clean up to 20 and could face disciplinary action if they do not reach the target.

The union’s incoming deputy general secretary Ethel Buckley said some were expected to lift loads of bedding or laundry bags heavier than those carried by baggage handlers at airports.