8:20am Saturday 20th March 2010
A UNION is threatening to put pickets outside a town centre restaurant following claims some of the staff were victimised and bullied.
The GMB union has now filed employment tribunal claims on behalf of seven workers at the PIzza Express restaurant in Sidcup High Street.
Union official Steve McKenzie says problems for the staff began when a new manager was brough into the restaurant in October last year.
Since she arrived, bringing five new staff who worked for her previously, existing staff claim their hours have been cut and conditions deteriorated.
Some staff have lost up to £500 a month, while the new staff have had their hours increased.
Mr McKenzie claimed one staff member who had a contract giving him a 34 hour week, was now only allocated 20 hours a week.
Mr McKenzie said: “These workers all have families to support and mortgages to pay.
“In some cases where 10 shifts are available the existing staff are allocated only four, while new staff have been given the other six.
“Some of these people have worked at this restaurant for years with no problems until now.”
He claims shift times have been changed so existing staff no longer get a meal break and after waiting on tables all evening, their finish times have changed so they leave before the restaurant closes and miss out on their tips.
Mr McKenzie said staff complained about verbal abuse and bad language from the manager, but attempts to discuss claims of bullying with the Pizza Express management had proved impossible.
He said after the union lodged its complaints, each of the staff was called in without their union representative, and told they were being moved out of Sidcup to other restaurants.
A spokeswoman for Pizza Express said: “We have launched an internal investigation which we are taking very seriously.
“We are doing our best to resolve this situation.”
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