&O refuses to drop drinks policy

Cruise ship operator P&O has refused to dump its policy of paying bar staff a commission on drink sales, despite it being labelled irresponsible and „extremely dangerous“.

Australian Drug Foundation chief executive Bill Stronach said the policy meant bar staff benefited from encouraging passengers to drink to excess.

„I think it’s absolutely appalling, and potentially extremely dangerous,“ Mr Stronach told ABC radio.

„Giving commissions to people behind the bar defies all responsible serving of alcohol principles.“

The commission policy was among the revelations made by former P&O security officer Jeff Dobjeckie earlier this week.

Mr Dobjeckie intends to meet with lawyers for the coroner presiding over the inquest into the cruise ship death of Brisbane woman Dianne Brimble.

Mrs Brimble’s naked body was found on the floor of a cabin on the P&O Pacific Sky less than 24 hours after she boarded the ship on September 23, 2002.

She died from an overdose of the date rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or fantasy, the inquest has been told.

Her body was found in a cabin belonging to four men, who are among eight identified by police as persons of interest in the case.

A P&O spokesman today said the company would not be changing its policy of paying bar staff commission on drink sales, despite Mr Stronach’s criticisms.

He said the commission was paid in lieu of a service charge, and was calculated on a pool basis across all bar staff.

„This means bar staff’s performance is not individually rewarded for how much they individually sell,“ the spokesman said.

„Our focus is upon strict enforcement of our responsible service of alcohol policies, and we have reiterated the importance of this to our staff.“

He said P&O had introduced policies, including increasing management and security supervision during the early hours of the morning and closing bars from 4am to 10am, as part of its „strict response to excessive behaviour“.

A Sydney newspaper reported yesterday that Mr Dobjeckie, who was sacked by P&O in March for arguing with another crew member, would reveal that officers were told to turn a blind eye to drug use.

Meanwhile, passengers on P&O Cruises to the South Pacific and North Queensland are now banned from bringing aboard their own alcoholic drinks.

If they try, any bottles in checked-in or hand baggage will be picked up by x-ray machines at embarkation and confiscated.

The bottles will be returned to passengers when they disembark at the end of the cruise.

A spokeswoman for P&O Cruises said the policy had been in place since January this year.

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