Bin staff blast £25k panto trip
A COUNCIL bin service has been slammed for lavishing £25,000 on panto tickets during a pay dispute with workers.
Bristol Waste bought 1,500 tickets for Cinderella, starring Brian Conley and Gok Wan, to thank employees for their hard work during the summer heatwave.
But some workers said it was an outrageous waste of money.
One employee said: “It is beyond belief – £25,000 would pay for an extra member of staff for a year, or could be distributed between employees.
Rejected
“Everyone would much rather that than pantomime tickets.”
Unison said its members had “overwhelmingly rejected” two pay offers and were prepared to strike as a last resort.
The firm is owned by Bristol City Council but managed and run by an independent team of directors.
A Bristol Waste spokesman said during the heatwave, staff “had to work tirelessly to ensure our services remained on track”, with extra days and early starts.
He added: “We wanted to acknowledge the hard work over the summer and offered them a token of thanks with tickets to a local pantomime.” A BAR manager was strangled by her chef at their Christmas party and only realised what happened when she checked CCTV footage, a tribunal heard.
Molly Phillips, 24, told how she passed out after Nathan Webb gripped her neck at the party.
Miss Phillips went to hospital to get checked for a suspected stroke – as she had no recollection of what happened.
However, CCTV film at the Cameo Club in Roath, Cardiff, showed her being strangled.
Miss Phillips told company directors about the attack on New Year’s Day, but claims they “dismissed” her complaints.
She has now brought an unfair dismissal claim against Pontcanna Pub Company Ltd – saying she felt unsafe and had to resign.
Clenched
She said: “It wasn’t until I watched the CCTV properly that I realised what had happened.
“Nathan Webb puts his arms around my neck, pulls it tighter with his fists clenched, and despite my trying to push him off me, he doesn’t let go.
“I then pass out in his arms, he then drops me and I smash my head against a fridge, and he is laughing the whole time.”
Miss Phillips said she went back to hospital the following day and was told her injuries “were either caused by lack of oxygen or nerve damage”.
Miss Phillips told company directors Jason Pearce and Huw Davies about the incident, but claims she was never asked how her medical condition was.
In March she went to police. Mr Webb was arrested in May.
She also told her bosses she was submitting injury claim.
Miss Phillips said: “Around the end of March I was in tears to Huw telling him that I just didn’t feel comfortable in work anymore, but I was given the same response over and over, that he couldn’t ‘wave a magic wand and fix everything’.”
The employment tribunal hearing at Cardiff magistrates court heard Miss Phillips resigned on May 16. She said: “I had been a personal assaulted by a colleague. When I tried to raise it with my employer they dismissed my complaints.”
In a statement, Mr Davies said: “At every stage we met with Molly and asked her what she wanted us to do.
“However, Molly was insistent that she didn’t want us to take any action against Nathan.”
Mr Webb remains employed as a chef at Cameo Club.
Judge Alison Frazer reserved judgment to make her findings. Molly Phillips had no recollection