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Rhys Davies & Sons denies race claim
Page 12
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A CARDIFF HAULAGE firm is fighting a compensation claim for racial discrimination by a man who alleges he was refused a job as a truck driver because of his Asian origin.
Abdul Sattar had applied to Taffs Well-based Rhys Davies & Sons for an advertised vacancy at its Tividale depot in the West Midlands one of the firm's nine branches in the UK,a Birmingham Employment Tribunal was told.
Sattar,formerly a bread delivery driver, said he had a 10-minute interview but was later told that the vacancy had been filled.
"I applied for the job as a Class 2 driver but was told that I did not have the two years' experience as a driver that the firm wanted,Sattar said, "Yet I was only a month or two short of the two years and it is well known that the haulage business is desperately short of lorry drivers.
"I believed I was well qualified for the job. I was victimised against because of my race."
Pam White, who runs Rhys Davies administration department from Cardiff said Sattar was sent an application form but failed to enclose his identification documents and did not have the driving experience.
By the time that the documents had been sorted out, the vacancy had been filled,White added.
Sattar told the Tribunal that when he phoned White at Cardiff she assured him there were two vacancies. He alleged she denied saying this when he next spoke to her.
One of the Tribunal members said to White: "There appears to have been an overlap which was an unsatisfactory situation."
The firm denied racial discrimination and pointed out that it employed many drivers from ethnic minorities in various parts of the UK.
The hearing ran out of time after a day and was adjourned to a later date to allow more witnesses to give evidence.