Strike-bound EYMS faces new threat
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Mthe strike of East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd. busmen entered its fifth week with half the staff of 700 still idle, a new development heightened tension and threatened to reinvolve the country depot staff in the dispute.
The 150 country depot employees went back to work last week on the advice of TGWU officials who felt that they were outside the dispute which centred on their colleagues at the main Hull depot.
But on Saturday the company posted notices in the "country" depots at Hornsea, Withernsea and Elloughton to the effect—according to TGWU officials—that passengers should be picked up and dropped inside the city boundary area—called "A" area—and the "B" area which spreads out as far as Anlaby, Hessle, Hedon, Willerby and Cottingham.
Mr. L. Hazell, the Hull busmen's union leader, told COMMERCIAL MOTOR: "The strict condition on which the outside depot crews were permitted to return to work was that they should not pick up passengers in these two areas unless the passengers were to be dropped outside the 'B' boundary. Now the management is insisting that this condition should be ignored."
The company notice said: "Crews should appreciate that they owe a duty to the public from whose fares their wages are paid and that a service which is not operated in complete accordance with the road service licence is little better than no service at all. The travelling public suffered great inconvenience while the strike was on and it is wrong that a section of it should still suffer inconvenience owing to the actions of some crews in failing to fulfil their duties in a proper manner".
A spokesman for EYMS said: "We have received complaints in respect of the work of some of the staff at certain depots and the notice has been posted at those depots only".
Added Mr. Hazell: "The management has told us that it has no intention of taking down the notices. This in spite of the fact that we have warned it that it is simply involving the depots afresh in the Hull dispute.
"If this attitude persists we will have no option but to call out the country depots as well".