The shocking incident occurred in the street outside the Stonegate-leased pub, which had been closed for the evening due to an effective strike that saw workers and over 100 supporters gather outside the St James Tavern.

On Saturday night, police were called to the pub after the strikers reported the landlord’s alleged assault. According to witnesses, the landlord’s nephew, who works as a chef at the pub, threw a punch at one of the SJT workers’ supporters before the police arrived. The landlord’s nephew, a chef at the St James Tavern, was also allegedly filmed attempting to punch one of the strikers’ supporters.

This comes after strike leader Jake Marvin was suspended, with supporters claiming that the pub management is attempting to break the union.

A UVW member and SJT worker, speaking anonymously because they were “frightened of what they could use against me,” stated:

“When I realised Zak was unlocking the chain, I began recording for my own protection.” I’m aware of how aggressive he can be. It was terrifying when he was carrying the chain towards me, then he yelled “stop recording” and smacked the phone out of my hand. He would have hit me if the phone hadn’t been there, that’s how I felt. Sunday I was trembling all day. It was a terrifying experience that quickly escalated into rage and physical abuse. Then, twenty minutes before my shift, I received a message informing me that I was no longer required due to a business downturn. This is a false claim, in my opinion, because there are usually two people on shift during the day, and there are two people working there today. As I was scheduled on, one of them was supposed to be me.”

An anonymous former SJT employee and eyewitness stated:

“I was forced to leave a job I loved due to the new owner’s behaviour.” I wanted to stand in solidarity with my friends and ex-colleagues in their courageous struggle to speak out and take action. It was incredible to see the amount of support they had gathered on their first day of strike, and I was proud to stand with them.

Unfortunately, things went downhill later that evening. We returned to film from a distance after hearing around 10:30 p.m. that the owners were threatening a fellow supporter outside the SJT. At this point, I saw the owner and chef shoving members of the public and staff while yelling and threatening with a chain in hand. The chef then tried to grab my phone aggressively, but I managed to keep my distance until my comrades intervened. The owners of SJT’s disgraceful and violent behaviour, which I witnessed on Saturday night, have no place in this industry. They’ve turned a once-thriving community pub into a living hell for both customers and employees. They must be removed, so we must fight in the proper manner, and we will triumph!”

UVW general secretary Petros Elia stated:

“SJT landlords’ behaviour is illegal and criminal.” Not only have Zak and Vicky broken UK employment law, but they have also attempted to violate our members’ human and trade union rights to freedom of assembly and association.

“In addition to being victimised and discriminated against, our members have witnessed and experienced violent assaults from the Zak.” This is not only criminal behaviour reported to the police, but also a violation of their licencing obligations reported to the local licencing authorities, who we hope will intervene in this matter.

We now call on Stonegate Group CEO Simon Longbottom to intervene to ensure compliance with statutory licencing law and to live up to Stonegate’s own values, which encourage ‘publicans to be actively involved in their communities and put their pubs at the heart of local life.’

“These publicans are harming the local community by causing scandals and hardship for residents.” Stonegate must act quickly.

Our SJT members will continue to campaign and strike to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect, and that they work in a safe environment.” We are willing to negotiate at any time.

The St James Tavern was contacted for comment.