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The bus driver with the one-man phobia
Page 28
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A WEST MIDLANDS PTE bus driver has lost an unfair dismissal claim before Birmingham Industrial Tribunal. He refused to retrain as a one-man operator, and resigned when threatened with disciplinary action.
The driver, Mr L. Bridgewater, had claimed "constructive dismissal" and submitted that he had no alternative but to resign because of the actions of the PTE.
The Tribunal was told that Mr Bridgewater had started work for Midland Red in 1966. At that time he challenged a condition in his terms of service to the effect that he was prepared to undergo oneman-operation training when required, but agreed to the terms after being told that unless he did he would not get the job.
In 1971 Mr Bridgewater went to work at the Stourbridge depot and in 1973 transferred to the PTE when it took over local services.
During 1979 it became essential he be retrained for one-man operation as Stourbridge planned to become wholly o-m-o by September of that year.
In July Mr Bridgewater told the garage superintendent he would never undertake oneman operating. On August 31 Mr Bridgewater was asked to report for one-man training, failed to do so, but was allowed to continue as a crew driver.
But in September he was warned that failure to report for training could lead to disciplinary action. He then resigned.
The Tribunal found un acceptable Mr Bridgewater's view that he was only employed as a crew driver under his terms of contract.
0-m-o was generally popular with drivers and there was no reason why Mr Bridgewater should be prejudiced against it. There was no breach of contract by the PTE. Mr Bridgewater had chosen to leave because he did not want to be a one man operator and he had not been dismissed.