Drivers call off bus strike after bosses drop disciplinary action

A STRIKE by Yellow Buses drivers has been called off after the company dropped disciplinary action against a shop steward.

Martin Conder (52), a senior Unite representative, had been threatened with the sack by Yellow Buses after he was assaulted by a passenger while driving his bus last month.

Another passenger came to his aid during the incident and the attacker was removed from the vehicle and left on the street.

There were no complaints from other passengers and Mr Conder followed procedure and reported the incident to management at Yellow Buses.

But according to Unite, Yellow Buses tried to sack Mr Conder because he did not report the incident to management using his mobile phone.

'This whole debacle could have easily been avoided'

He was given a final written warning – which he appealed – with the union slamming the action. It also pointed out it was against company rules to for a driver to have a mobile phone turned on in the cab, and the on-board two-way radio communication system was often out of action.

Hundreds of Mr Conder’s colleagues demanded a strike ballot, which was set for late November. Had it been backed, drivers would likely have walked out over the busy Christmas period.

Yellow Buses serves passengers throughout the Christchurch area. In April it extended the 1A route into Highcliffe and New Milton, and this month introduced the 21 route, linking Bransgore and Winkton with Christchurch.

But Unite regional officer Janet Wall has now confirmed the action has been suspended after Mr Conder’s appeal against the written warning prompted the company to drop all the charges against him. She was “pleased” with the outcome.

“Martin Conder is a well-respected union representative with an unblemished record. This whole debacle could have easily been avoided because Martin had done nothing wrong. His name has been cleared and the industrial-action ballot has been called off,” she added.

“Unite will always robustly defend our union representatives against mistreatment by bosses. We are pleased that we can now move on and our members can get back to business as usual.”

In a statement, David Squire, Yellow Buses managing director, said: “We are pleased that a solution has been found and the prospect of industrial action has been removed.

“It means our passengers can be assured that our services will continue to operate normally. We remain committed to the safety of our staff and customers at all times.”

He said he could not comment further since police were still looking into the incident.