Joke email gets London bus employees sacked

Rachel Munro ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 29 Mar 2001 11:43 BST

Londoners affected by the tube strike will not be pleased to hear that employees of bus company London United are to strike today in protest against the sacking of two colleagues for a joke email.

The email came to light after being posted on a company notice board. It featured a manager from the company with weights hanging from his testicles. The company felt that those involved had "conspired to undermine and harrass" the manager and both were sacked.

However, one of the sacked employees, Godfrey Aberdeen, is a local convenor of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), and is planning to mount an appeal against the sacking. In his defence, he argues that the email was sent from private home to private home, rather than at the workplace, and that it was sent out of work hours. On that basis, it should be treated as a private conversation or telephone call would, he argues.

In the meantime, 100 bus workers are planning to strike on Thursday and Friday in response to the decision. The company says it is taking measures to ensure that services remain unaffected.

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