Bus drivers say they had 'no choice' but to resign

Bus drivers who raised concerns over safety said they resigned because "they felt they had no choice" and were "worried" for the welfare of passengers.

Angela Bradford and John Hamflett, who worked for Go North East (GNE) at its depot in Consett, County Durham, stepped down after they were suspended for delaying signing a safety declaration letter.

Unite the Union said it was consulting with 1,300 drivers and staff over potential industrial action following the suspension of Ms Bradford, Mr Hamflett and several others.

GNE said it was "committed to ensuring the highest safety standards at all times" and suspensions were "in accordance with our established procedures".

Ms Bradford and Mr Hamflett were among six workers to be suspended, and receive a final written warning, because they did not sign a safety declaration letter.

The letter, which has been seen by the BBC, asked workers to confirm they knew the safety procedure when a red warning light, which indicates a serious fault, appeared on the dashboard of a bus.

However, workers claimed this procedure was often ignored by managers with drivers often asked to continue driving.

Ms Bradford, who joined the firm 32 years ago, said: "If I was driving down the road and a red light came on, I would contact control and they say 'yeah we know about it, just continue'.

"But say 10 minutes down the line my brakes failed, and [the bus] hit something or killed somebody, I've signed this document to say I wouldn't drive with a red light.

"I was very worried, worried for myself and my passengers.

"I was hoping to be in a job until I retire, I've lost that now."

Mr Hamflett claimed he had asked to clarify the details of the letter with union officials, but "wasn't given that opportunity" by managers and sent home, before being suspended.

He said: "We've got incidents where these red lights are being taped up so it doesn't show up on the dashboard, and we have to carry on not knowing if there's a fault.

"I never refused, I just wanted a bit of clarity and I honestly feel like I've done nothing wrong but feel like I've had to resign because of that."

He added the suspension had taken a "toll" on his mental health, and now worried for the future, but said he felt he "couldn't go back".

Dave Telford, regional officer at Unite, said the union was consulting drivers on strike action.

"We're back here because of the belligerent attitude of Go North East management, and the way they've handled some safety briefings which were rolled out to staff, the threats of suspension and disciplinary action if they didn't sign to accept those safety briefings."

"They had genuine concerns, and that's been borne out since... [as] the control room have been telling drivers to continue drivng with red warning lights.

"[GNE] need to get round the table with Unite and move forward constructively, so we can prevent this from happening again and resolve the issues that they've created."

Nigel Featham, managing director at Go North East, said the safety declarations had been introduced to "reinforce best practices".

He said: "For example, to ensure that double deck buses are not driven on routes with low bridges in case it leads to bridge strikes.

"Safety standards of this nature are essential for protecting our passengers."

Mr Featham said only seven out of 1,300 drivers had declined to sign the safety letter and they had been temporarily suspended "in accordance with our established procedures".

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