Reference no: EM133242187
Thillytrans a bus driving company offers fast, safe, and affordable public transport services. In August 2020, the bus drivers abandoned their busses, without any prior notice to management. The strike was a result of an unresolved grievance with regards to new routes that were issued to the bus drivers. According to management, the drivers did not communicate any grievances to them and was under the impression that the bus drivers was happy with the new routes. The strike, therefore, astounded management. The bus drivers refused to drive the corridors that were allocated to them as the distance of these routes were longer than the current routes. The strike not only impacted the company, but it also had a ripple effect on the commuters since it caused them to be late for work, students were late for school and some commuters were even left stranded.
Various attempts by management were made to negotiate with the bus drivers and persuade them to commence work. The bus drivers refused to return to work and were subsequently informed that they would be disciplined and possibly be dismissed. This clearly indicates that management could not influence the unmanageable, disorderly, striking bus drivers. Each of the bus drivers was called to appear before a disciplinary hearing. The company made every reasonable effort to ensure that the notice to attend the hearing had been delivered to each employee. The company furthermore ensured that the relevant trade union was notified of the matter at hand.
The disciplinary hearings continued in the absence of the bus drivers as they refused to attend the disciplinary hearings. The bus drivers were found guilty of various offences, such as failing and refusing to drive the route that was issued to them, failing to park the busses in the prescribed authorised areas, and purposely attempting to sabotage the company's services. They were dismissed with immediate effect and the company commenced with a recruitment drive to appoint new drivers.
1. Identify the type of strike and briefly explain, with examples from the case study, what this strike entails.
2. Thillytrans dismissed the striking bus drivers. Was this a fair or unfair dismissal? Substantiate your answer and refer to the information given in the case study.