An appeal was filed against the reduction of a five-foot bus driver’s salary. She lost her job as she was too short to safely use the wing mirrors.
Go North West changed the position of their buses’ wing mirrors meaning mother-of-three Tracey Scholes, 57, had to lean around a pillar to see them, meaning she could not keep her feet on the pedals.
Mrs Scholes, a widow with 34 years’ experience, was offered a different role on the company’s school buses, which had more suitable mirrors, but the change would have meant a reduction in pay and hours worked.
She turned down the offer and she was given notice. The business said they had made ‘numerous proposals’ to keep her in the company.
After an appeal, with Mrs Scholes garnering support from a string of celebrities, the company agreed to offer the bus driver her current pay rate but with reduced hours, meaning she would still be losing £230 a month, the Unite union said.
Mrs Scholes, from Heywood, is now making a second appeal to keep her current hours – which would mean working just one extra hour a day.
Go North West has changed the location of their bus’ wing mirrors, meaning that they are now m other-of-three Tracey Scholes, 57, could not use them while keeping her feet on the pedals
Mrs Scholes attempted to drive buses but was forced to look at the mirror from the back of the bus by leaning around the screen on her cab.
The Manchester Evening News reported that she told them: “If they just pay me an hour more per day, then I’ll clean a bus or handle admin tasks. They won’t let me down if they offered to pay me an extra five hours.
“They are not doing simple things that they could do, but they refuse to.” They wouldn’t have to work as many hours for me, which would not break the bank.
Go North West stated in a statement that Tracey was a valuable member of Go North West’s staff and it is a great loss to have her go. Unite was consulted about the design of our mirrors for buses. They are accessible to all our drivers who have similar heights to Tracey.
Mrs Scholes was a widow who has 34 years of experience. However, the new role would have required a decrease in hours and a lower pay.
“When Tracey brought up a concern, we offered many solutions, such as offering different bus routes and buses to her. All of our ideas were turned down.
“Dedicated, skilled, and hardworking bus drivers can be difficult to find. We would not take it lightly in such a case. This driver was our regret.
A statement entitled “You are too short” was issued. It stated that either you will be cut off or fired.Unite warned Go North West to reinstate Tracey Scoles as bus driver on full time and pay.
It stated that Tracey had lost his ability to drive buses.
Tracey Scholes, aged 57, is facing dismissal from the job. She must accept a loss of 5 hours per week.
‘It means she’ll lose £230 a month driving school buses where the wing mirrors have not been repositioned. Tracey is a widower and mother to three children and needs both the work and money.
Tracey will file a last appeal this week. However, her union Unite has warned Go North West it will protect Tracey’s right to her job. Tracey needs only one hour of work per day from management.
“Go North West” is already being infuriated at its handling of this situation. Unite pledges to increase its efforts to save Tracey’s hours.
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said that Unite was determined to protect Tracey’s right to keep her job.
Tracey, who has 34 years of service, does not deserve this horrible ordeal. Unite will defend its members’ rights to fair pay, conditions and jobs. This is especially true when the employer acts in such a cruel and shameful manner.
“The Go North West management only need to spend one hour per day trying to resolve this issue amicably. This isn’t much work for Go North West. But it is a lot of work for Tracey.
The company appears determined on confrontation, instead. Tracey has the full support of her union, and I’m willing to increase Unite’s campaign.