Responsible Job

Gerard Gaffney

This time around hotel managers like Gerard Gaffney will have their own enterprise agreement. The union is negotiating for recognition of their skills bringing them more in line with the rate of pay of engineers and officers.

"This is in recognition of the extra responsibility we have in running the ship," said Gerry, a former national councillor with the MUA. "The union is doing a great job. (National Legal Officer) Joanne White is remarkable. It's good to have someone with that sort of legal background and skills to call on. We've got a lot of women in management on board now. It's not 50/50 but we're getting there. We started off with none, now in span of 10 or 11 years we've got around six. And they make it a better place to be. I love working with them.

People work and live on this ship. It's not like going to the Sheraton Hotel and coming home to your family at night. You have to live on board. It's a bit like a commune. You get clashes of personality because we're living in each other's pockets. Ship life is different. If you have a blue with someone you can't just go home and forget it. But it's an interesting place. You get to meet all sorts of people from all walks of life. People travelling on board include soapie stars, pollies and singers.