A Yorkshire postman returned to work this morning (Friday) after winning reinstatement through an independent appeal against his prior dismissal.
Wakefield Delivery Office worker John Vasey, who has worked for the company for 25 years, was fired by Royal Mail last August after being accused of non-completion of his delivery.
But as John is a CWU unit rep, the business should have judged the issue according to a different set of agreed procedures, explained union executive member Bobby Weatherall.
Bobby, who represented John through the appeal process, said: “Because of the extra duties that a unit rep has to carry out, and also to prevent victimisation by management, a specific new conduct code for reps was agreed at national level with the business a few years ago.
This takes into account the different role, and the extra pressures that this places on our union reps.
“When we presented John’s case at the hearing, we were able to show that the company had not used this agreed procedure and that, if they had done so, then the problem could have been resolved at a much earlier stage,” Bobby added.
Sitting at Leeds last November, the three-member independent adjudication panel heard all sides of the case and then gave their verdict last week, judging that a lesser penalty was the appropriate course in this instance and ordered John’s reinstatement on that basis.
John said that he was “really pleased to be back at work, and I’ve had a great welcome from everyone here.”
His colleagues at Wakefield had been “100 per cent behind me and it’s brilliant to return” he added.
“I’m very grateful to them and also to Bobby for representing me. He put an astonishing amount of work he put into my case.”