Union's defied at PCT joint deal
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• Portsmouth City Council voted to sell Portsmouth City Transport to its employees and Southampton City Bus last week, much to the delight of the Transport and General Workers Union.
According to Alex Hodder of the TGWU, the city's busmen are "over the moon" that the Tory-controlled council's corn mittee has backed the 240strong labour force.
Two months ago, Southern Vectis's takeover bid failed in mysterious circumstances and accusations of incompetence flew in all directions. The TGWU is pressing for an inquiry into the way the sale of the bus company was handled. "The question is," says Hodder, "whether or not the sale of Portsmouth City Transport has been handled in a prudent fashion, for the benefit of both the ratepayers and the corn pany's employees."
Now Transport Secretary Paul Channon has to decide whether the joint bid can go ahead, and the papers are already on his desk.
According to the TGWU, Portsmouth City Council had no option but to approve the latest offer: "The only other alternative was to close things down," says Hodder. Commercial Motor understands that the sale will net considerably less than the 21.15 million offer made by Southern Vectis.