Tracey Scholes, the Go North West bus driver who was dismissed from her job for ‘being too short’ has won her appeal and her job back, reports Chris Neville

Following a high-profile campaign by Unite to expose the disgraceful decision by Go North West management to dismiss Tracey Scholes, she has won her appeal and been reinstated. The company had dismissed her after she raised safety concerns relating to new wing mirrors on buses not providing sufficient visibility due to her small height.

The company initially tried to move Tracey on to reduced hours and pay which she rightly refused. She was then told that by refusing the offer, she had effectively handed in her resignation.

With 34 years of service and being the first woman driver at the Queens Road depot, Tracey has been described as a trailblazer and has spoken about how she had to overcome sexist attitudes in the past, paving the way for other women to get on board. Tracey took part in the epic eighty-day strike last year as she and her colleagues successfully fought back against fire and rehire.

Unite blasted the company’s press release which said they offer had always been open to Tracey saying ‘Go Ahead’s Corporate Affairs team attempted to spin their way out of embarrassment’. It is clear that under the stewardship of Nigel Featham, Go North West is relentlessly focused on attacking its workforce.

Since Featham took over, he has suspended the depot rep, tried to fire and rehire the entire driver workforce and now this. Where Featham goes, industrial action often follows, revealing a picture of an anti-worker enforcer with a habit of trying to make staff suffer in order to line the pockets of himself and the company shareholders.

That he has been defeated so many times shows the strength of organised trade union power. Congratulations to Tracey and her Unite colleagues for fighting back and winning.