Virgin cabin crew escalate dispute to Fair Work over Perth layover hotel after trove of pictures document filthy accommodation

Flight attendants have escalated their dispute with Virgin Australia over the conditions they are forced to sleep and eat in at the airline’s Perth layover hotel.

Virgin Australia cabin crew are poised to follow pilots into the Fair Work Commission armed with a 150 page dossier documenting the disgusting conditions they have to endure at their Perth layover hotel.

The four star Mercure in Perth’s CBD has a contract with Virgin Australia to provide rooms for pilots and cabin crew to ensure they are well-rested between flights.

But concerns over hygiene, safety, noise and other issues at the hotel have been escalated by flight and cabin crew after an unsatisfactory management response, with the Australian Federation of Air Pilots filing a complaint to the Fair Work Commission.

The Flight Attendants Association of Australia is next, after compiling a report on members’ concerns including dozens of pictures of the lodgings.

Images showed filthy air vents, mouldy walls and bathroom tiles, a broken shower head, a broken handle on a fire escape door, a blood-spattered curtain, rusty fixtures, dirty glasses, cracked joins, construction outside hotel windows and a large hole in the bathroom ceiling.

On one occasion, a flight attendant arrived in the early hours of the morning to find her room had no bed due to an administrative error.

A man hole cover fell on a crew member’s head during a stay at the Perth Mercure Hotel.

Preferences: room with bed.

Beau Barbera, who recently resigned from his role as Virgin Australia cabin crew and FAAA health and safety representative, said it was very difficult to get good rest at the hotel.

“One night I got up to use the bathroom around midnight and a man hole cover fell and hit me on the head,” said Mr Barbera.

“I called down to reception and was told maintenance (staff) didn’t work weekends.”

Mr Barbera said some crew simply refused to stay at the Mercure, preferring to spend their own money on hotels that were clean and secure.

A fire exit door missing a door handle.

FAAA industrial relations manager Steven Reed said it was frustrating that management had only started to take their concerns seriously after they took steps to go the FWC.

“The company then gave the hotel a few days’ notice that they would be inspecting some of the rooms,” Mr Reed said.

“Our concern is that by giving the hotel notice, they had opportunity to address the mould concerns in particular prior to inspection and would not truly reflect the nature of the ongoing concerns.”

He said an FAAA health and safety representative was not invited to attend the inspection, despite a request to do so.

“We are now likely to escalate the matter to the Fair Work Commission given the feelings of FAAA members around this hotel where they do not feel safe,” said Mr Reed.

Questionable ventilation.

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman indicated the hotel was compliant with requirements and any concerns raised were promptly addressed.

“We continue to work in good faith with the Flight Attendants Association of Australia to address any concerns raised by our team members in relation to the Perth crew hotel,” said the spokeswoman.

“There is an internal process currently underway with the FAAA, which is focused on attempting to reach a resolution on any concerns.”

Pilots shared the concerns of cabin crew, with their complaint to the FWC centred on inadequate blackout curtains, faulty airconditioning and general noise due to thin walls and the hotel’s location. This interfered with their quality of sleep.

Virgin Australia has previously indicated its “strong disagreement” with the position of pilots and cabin crew and said senior management regularly chose to stay at the property due to it being “clean, comfortable and appropriate”.

Originally published as Virgin cabin crew escalate dispute to Fair Work over Perth layover hotel after trove of pictures document filthy accommodation