Driver claims he was sacked for organising union meeting
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• A Southampton driver who claims he was sacked by Stoford Transport for organising a meeting with the Transport & General Workers Union is to go to an industrial tribunal to get his job back. Driver Paul Cooper had been employed at Stoford's Southampton depot for just eight weeks when he was sacked. He claims the only reason he lost his job was that he arranged for drivers to meet local T&G Union representative Jennie Sandie.
Cooper, who was sacked on Friday last week (25 October), says he was not given a reason at the time of dismissal. Sandie instantly lodged a claim against his dismissal under the "interim relief" procedure—a piece of employment law that guards against employers sacking staff for seeking union representation.
Stoforcl managing director Chris
Tancock says Cooper's dismissal had nothing to do with union activity. "He was sacked for being late, failing to phone the office after making deliveries and taking his vehicle home without permission." He also says many of Stoford's drivers are members of a union, which he encourages. A review of the case has to be held in three weeks and if the preliminary meeting decides the company may have acted improperly, it can force the firm to reinstate the driver or at least pay his wages until the full case is heard.
Sandie/ who says she has evidence from other drivers that they were threatened with dismissal if they attended the union meeting, will represent Cooper when the case is heard. "It's important to demonstrate to employers that union representation is still a right," she says.