keith benwell ex cwu member / ex BT (work-shy) employee. A Winter's Tale - THE BOMB SHELL!

A Winter's Tale. (by a former CWU-CC&TV USR)

(i) c. late Dec. 2009.

I was drinking tea in the rear of a BT vehicle on site somewhere in Bedfordshire and not paying much attention to whatever it was that was being talked about. 

When, speaking to Tony Walker and Micky Danks, I heard Frank - the thick plank - Hackett say ...yeah, broke his fucking foot, the fucking idiot, what the fuck was he doing there on christmas fucking eve...? blah blah blah...

I did not have a clue who frank-the-plank was talking about. That's how interested I was in hackett's monotonous drivel.

(ii) c. Jan. 2010.

I was approached by my and benwell's line manager peter martin (I use the word manager very very loosely indeed) who informed me that he was to carry out an accident investigation because 'benny' had broken his ankle at work, and did I want to do the accident investigation with him as the CWUs USR for the area? I said yes,I would carry out the accident investigation alongside him and log the findings and details on the CWU-CC&TV branch H&S USR website so that appropriate preventative measures could be taken and proper compensation, if applicable, be awarded to the BT employee who was the victim of this "accident at work". As, indeed, I had done for a BME BT employee managed by p.martin when he had had a little fender bender in a BT vehicle that wasn't his fault and subsequently reported "severe whiplash" and was successful in being awarded monetary compensation from BT via my and Eamonn McLauglin's work as CWU H&S Reps.

(iii) c.Jan. 2010.

BT manager(HA!) peter martin and I visited the scene of the crime, sorry i mean the scene of the accident, Chesham ATE. p.martin took some pics and imparted the details of the "accident" to me. Which amounted to - keith benwell, a sixty three y/o BT operative who began his employment with BT in 1972 and who lives less than five minutes away from Chesham ATE by car, is recorded as FOS ON for work at 05:45 on xmas eve 2009, 

[When the whole country was blanketed in heavy snow and ice and the overnight temperature was averaging -14.°C]

I said: ...he clocked on and was in this yard well before six, fell arse over elbow walking from his car to his van and broke his fucking ankle ..is that what you're telling me pete? 

p.martin: Yep, apparently. That's his story.

I said: ..fucking hell pete, what the fuck was he doing coming to work on christmas eve at quarter to six in the morning? It must have been minus 10 at least, it was cold as fuck over christmas and there was ice every fucking where! For fuck sake what was he doing here, why the fuck is a sixty three y/o man coming to work on xmas eve well before six o'clock in the morning in bloody treacherous and hazardous weather conditions...?

p.martin: I don't fucking know. Let me take some more pictures then we'll go and see 'im and see what he's got to fucking to say for himself....

I said: ..is he plastered up?

p.martin ..yeah.

At benwell's residence greeting were exchanged and seats offered and taken. I succeeded in keeping the amused grin off my face as I observed the pathetic sight of pot-bellied benwell totter around like an unstable baby elephant and hoped to fuck he didn't fall on me when he moved about.

We didn't get down to business until some small talk had been had between benwell and martin, which martin, bless him, attempted to keep to a minimum. During the course of which, benwell said to martin that he was spending his days in plaster, on the computer. martin asked him what he got up to online? 

benwell, with a completely straight face and with actual pride, informed peter martin that he, benwell, was spending hours on end (sic) playing on his "Virtual Farm" and how he was finding it so enjoyable and engrossing(not benwell's word) and addictive that he couldn't get enough of it. I had put me hand over me mouth and pretended I was looking at my paperwork. I was pissing myself. martin, to his credit, kept a straight face and listened to benwell wax shit, sorry I mean wax lyrical about how "..great it is on the farm pete, its fucking brilliant.. I can't get enoigh of it.."(sic)

p.m. ...right benny, I got to go through this with you... blah blah blah...what happened exactly?

benwell said he slipped and fell when he was attempting to get into his BT vehicle.

p.m...and then?

benwell said, I drove to Aylesbury (with a broken ankle) and parked up in the yard.

p.m. ..benny you're 63, why were you going into work at all on a freezing cold, very icy very snowy xmas eve benny. why not just stay home?

benwell said he had had to drive his wife to work.

p.m. ..why didn't you return home once you'd fallen and hurt yourself?...were you in any pain or discomfort benny?

k.b. ..a bit, yeah.

benwell went onto explain that some time after driving the 15 odd miles to Aylesbury ...and hung around for a bit...(sic) in a deserted Griffin Ln yard, he drove to Stoke Mandeville hospital because his foot was now ...hurting worse. (sic).

benwell then explained that he was x-rayed and then plastered up at A&E and he contacted dominic (martello) ...coz dominic was on sick leave and he came to the hospital to look after me... (sic).

p.m ..alright benny, anything else?

benwell said no not really.  benwell said that he was being visited at home by dominic martello and ray lassan.

Following which, benwell, for a few minutes, proceeded to bemoan the fact that no rock salt had been applied to the Chesham ATE car park yard that morning and it was BTs fault because if BT had put down grit salt he wouldn't have slipped and fell and broken his ankle, so it was clearly BTs fault.

p.martin replied that ...when you fell and hurt yourself benny, it was before six o'clock in the morning on christmas eve -10 below with snow and ice covering the ground in one of the harshest winters in years and that, probably, most BT people were still in bed, asleep.

I couldn't look at benwell, I was afraid I'd crack up. So instead I asked martin: ...if in bed asleep, was where he was on that freezing cold xmas eve morning. 

martin replied - ...yeah, probably. 

I said that I was pretty certain that that is where I was. 

I then said to benwell that he was lucky that he hadn't slipped and broken more than just his ankle in those dangerous freezing snow and ice conditions. 

benwell replied that ..the yard should've been salted and if it was he wouldn't have slipped and fell. 

I pointed out that it was before six o'clock in the morning and that there was no BT employees in situ to spread rock salt on the ground. 

benwell said it should have been done the night before ...by the last person to leave the yard.(sic) 

I then said ..benny, did you spread some salt around before you left the yard after parking up the night before? 

benwell said ...I wasn't the last to leave.

p. martin followed up and asked benwell if he had spread salt around after parking his car and before getting into his van? 

benwell said he would have done but there wasn't any salt in the grit bin. 

martin said ..did you look? 

benwell said ..yeah it was empty, otherwise I would've done. (sic) 

I didn't make any reply. but looked in martin's direction. martin was looking down at his paperwork and remained silent. I was very tempted to reply ..yeah course you had a look benny, knowing the reputation you've got as a conscientious(HA!) industrious(HA!) hard working(HA!) and dedicated(HA!) BT employee. But I behaved myself and resisted that temptation. (but it wasn't easy!)

p.martin was now obligated to put the employer's perspective to benwell regarding his "workplace accident". p. martin did so in a straight forward manner.

p.martin: benny, BT (meaning line managers and operatives who are well known to benwell e.g. malcolm aubrey, pete carnie etc...) are saying that you could have fallen and broken your ankle out here [indicating the area directly outside benwell's residence] and then went into work so that you can blame BT. I'm not saying that what happened benny, I'm just telling you that's what BT are going to argue.

To which benwell replied ..I can prove it, there was no salt down, its there fault, they should have put salt down...(sic)

p.martin: ..BT'll say there's no salt down out there either benny. [indicating benwell's drive and footpath] ..have you got any witnesses to say you slipped and broke your ankle on BT premises?

benwell: no, haven't..but its there fault, they're to blame..(sic)

p.martin then said that he'll ..put in the accident report with everything you told me benny and then its down to BT and you..(sic)

I then said, yes certainly benny had given the accident investigation his full version of events and that as the CWU CC&TV USR for the area I would like to thank benny for doing so. I then assured benwell that the CWU-CC&TV branch would do everything we could to support him and his version of 'what happened' and back him up against BT to ensure he is properly supported and compensated and the full circumstances surrounding his unfortunate BT workplace(?) accident is logged and recorded on the CWU-CC&TV USR accident investigation website.

THE BOMBSHELL

benwell...ah, I'm not in the union anymore Colin. (sic)

Oh dear oh dear, oh my, oh my. How so very very unfortunate for you - was what immediately went through my mind. 

I actually replied with ...Oh aren't you. I didn't realise! Since when benny?

[There was no way that benwell could have not recognised the look of surprise on my face when he informed me of his little none union membership predicament. Bearing in mind this sad individual had been a BT employee since 1972 and a union member throughout that time.]

benwell: ...last year, I wern't happy how they did the pay rise and got us nuffin.(sic)

I said: Oh, right. I didn't know.

benwell: ..yeah, I left the union last year, I thought everyone knew..(sic) ***

No he didn't.

That pathetically sad, cowardly, dishonest, pig ignorant, so so lazy / as workshy as they come - for the last 10 years of employment with BT - that ex CWU member & now ex BT employee that is k benwell was well aware that his STUPID relinquishing of the "insurance" that is CWU membership within BT, was unknown to all but a few, i.e. benwell's busom buddies within BT who are all on friendly and familiar terms with each others sphincters.

In reality, there are many many such 'persons' identical to benwell within BT that are known to all. BT employees such as benwell and co. hold the CWU and CWU Reps in utter contempt, view them with disdain and ridicule and abuse those trade union Reps at will. Especially full time Reps like the mcglynn's, mason's, phillip's, sermon's, french's, et al of this world. The benwell's, aubrey's, thorp's martello's, oakley's, spanswick's, guy's, gordon's, ruzicka's, bunce's, jarret's, chalmer's, carnie's, douglas's, foulkes's allington's, wise's nash's, et al of BTs world-  are ALL union hating, anti union, hateful and despising of the CWU CC&TV Reps and what they stand for - BUT - they KNOW those same CWU CC&TV Reps they are hateful and contemptuous of (behind the Reps backs, of course,) will say to them - How high?, when the likes of the aforenamed white BT employees say JUMP to those very CWU CC&TV Reps.

 ***After benwell had dropped his bombshell, the meeting concluded and p. martin and I left benwell's poky hovel, never to return. (I'll leave that to dominic distefano - stay in touch/keep in touch dom...(sic)

A Winter's Tale - to be concluded 
followed by - A Summer's Tale. 
Re: benwell's RTW summer 2010 up to he being shown the door @ age 65 by BT Oct. 2012 following he, benwell, being compelled to occupy a seat in a courtroom in Aug. 2012 alongside four other BT lying, dishonest, coward twats accompanied by their lying, dishonest, coward twat BT Friend(manager)

2Bcontd...

xxx