Bus drivers walked out over misconduct

Published Friday, 20 April 2012

About 100 Belfast bus drivers staged an impromptu protest on Friday which brought Metro services to a standstill in the city centre, amid a row with Translink over the suspension of a colleague.

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Those taking part in the protest parked their empty buses outside City Hall in a show of support for a driver they say had been suspended for allegedly damaging the disabled ramp of a bus.

The dispute was resolved after talks between Translink bosses and union representatives - and the Metro drivers later returned to work.

In a statement, the company said the unofficial industrial action was taken "following an internal investigation into an incident of potential employee misconduct" and that it served only to inconvenience passengers.

Translink workers said they wanted to be sure similar circumstances won't arise in the future.

Union leaders hailed the action as a success after receiving assurances that the Metro service driver had been allowed back to work.

The suspended employee has been reinstated and Translink's investigations are ongoing.

Comments

17 Comments

henry in north belfast wrote (398 days ago):

@stevie, are you telling me that the drivers dont know how to used the buses they drive.....so like what do they do, hand ya the keys and say away ya go? well if thats the case then sack the drivers who not only held up belfast city centre with their no warning in advance to the public like workers and traders and the citys outcome as they arent your target and one more thing stevie buddy ifs it true and the drivers dont do a test before they drive these buses then sack their boss too.btw i drive public transport too.

stevie in belfast wrote (398 days ago):

As an x worker i have to say a great lot of the damage to buses are caused by drivers curbing tyres, Driving of with doors open and the ramp not fully locked in its place costing the public more on fares, Its time translink took action, Put Bus drivers through a test on how to operate a machine/ramps/doors.lifting and lowering the bus.

Jamesbelfast in Belfast wrote (398 days ago):

If a trade union leader cannot negotiate then that leaders ability to lead has failed. If the suspended drivers action was in breach of his terms of contract and was suspending for doing so only careful investigation and a report into the matter will find the truth of the matter. Surely intelligent drivers and union representatives can find a means of settling the matter without resorting to strike.

Frosty in Here wrote (398 days ago):

liam in belfast wrote (1 day ago): "PS: UTV, these validation codes are hectic." You're telling me, I got a blurred word and a picture of sign that looked like one for a public toilet. lol - the ability to form paragraphs wouldn't go amiss either.

Davy McFaul in South Derry wrote (399 days ago):

Nice to see Belfast bus drivers making a stand in solidarity with their colleague. Striking is legalised extortion? Thank the Gods that the working man has some protection, (albeit very limited), aginst explottation & abuse. People should indeed be less selfish. So you were inconvienced for a wee while? We're talking about people's livelihoods.

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