Cut and paste from the International FAAA.
4 July 2005 ID 29-05
Attention All Qantas Long HaulFlight Attendants
Crew Accommodation in Los Angeles
We have written to crew on several occasions providing an update on the issue of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The preparation for our listing in theAustralian Industrial Relations Commission is now complete. It has been a painstaking, complex and lengthy process and it has been submitted to the AIRC today.
Crew should continue to exercise extreme care and caution in the downtown area of Los Angeles and in the environs of the Hotel until this matter has been resolved by the Commission. We are confident that when all of the facts are known and assessed by the independent umpire that a solution will be found.
To give you some idea of the process, we have received in excess of 200 copies of individual ICANs outlining serious concerns about the downtown area and the company's selected hotel in Los Angeles. In addition we have also received approximately 100 emails and other reports direct to the FAAA. These reports have required investigation and various submissions being prepared for an internal appeal within Qantas, leading to a dispute in the AIRC.
Some of the more serious reports have included:
a. Several crew have been physically assaulted near to the hotel;
b. Several female crew have been threatened with serious sexual assault and subjected to vicious sexual harassment, both within the hotel itselfand nearto the
hotel;
c. Several crew have been threatened with knives and guns near to the hotel;
d. Several crew have been harassed within the hotel itself;
e. Several crew have been witness to murder scenes near to the hotel;
f. Numerous crew have reported witnessing drug dealing, drug taking and other criminalbehaviour;
g. Numerous crew members have been subject to abuse, harassment and intimidating behaviour by vagrants and gang members, both within the hotel itself andnear
to the hotel
h. Hotel staff have been advising crew not to venture outside of the hotel alone, especially after dark.
Crew have also recognized the apparent contradiction between Qantas Security warnings to staff to"avoid prominent buildings and monuments that could be potential terrorist targets and care should be taken in business districts and popular touristareas", and Qantas management's decision to place crew in this hotel.
Other airlines, including Air New Zealand and United Airlines have removed flight attendants from the Westin Bonaventure due to safety and security concerns.
Noise
In addition we have received numerous reports from crew members detailing noise issues preventing adequate rest in hotel rooms. Traffic noise and noise from adjoining rooms being the most commonly cited issues.
Some of the other issues that have been raised include:
Some hotel rooms do not offer sufficient privacy for flight attendants. Persons riding in outside elevators can see directly into many rooms unless the black out curtain are fully drawn.
There is a lack of adequate food, service and recreational facilities near to the hotel. This is particularly a problem after normal business hours and on weekends, due to the nature of the area being a business district.
Consequently, by accommodating flight attendants at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Qantas is in breach of EBA IV by failing to provide"first class accommodation" as required by cl.17.1.1. The accommodation is not of a"high security standard" (cl.17.1.2(a)) and the rooms are not "free of extraneousnoise" (cl.17.1.2(b)).
Qantas has also failed to have due regard to"the locality, environment inside and outside of the hotel, noise, transport, availability of acceptable standards of meals andservices" as required by cl.17.1.3.
In terms of process, the FAAA has made strong representations to Qantas about the problems faced by crew at this hotel, there have been numerous meetings and correspondence where we attempted to achieve a negotiated outcome with the Company. Unfortunately, the Company does not consider the above issues serious enough to warrant moving crew to other hotels. Consequently we have listed before the AIRC.