Bus union backs sacked driver's legal fight

A Metro bus driver has been sacked following an assault last year where he was glassed and ‘exchanged blows’ with one of two youths. The new claims the driver has made in his unfair dismissal case.

A Metro driver who was assaulted by two youths in December last year has been sacked by Metro. Picture: supplied

Metro Tasmania confirmed on Wednesday that it has fired a bus driver who was assaulted by two young passengers in December last year after finding he breached the company’s own policies and procedures by putting the “safety of passengers and the community at risk”.

Now, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) Tasmania branch is supporting the driver as he launches an unfair dismissal case against the company.

A bus driver, who does not want to be named, was assaulted by a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old on December 13, 2024, in Mowbray after asking them to leave the bus. The youths, who had been drinking, punched and kicked the driver, and hit him in the eye with a broken bottle, causing a significant injury.

Injuries to the Metro bus driver. Picture: supplied.

Both youths were arrested and charged by police two days later.

However, the bus driver’s workers’ compensation claim was dismissed in April of this year. The dismissal was based on a finding by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) that the driver engaged in “serious misconduct”.

Specifically, TASCAT found the driver “manhandled” one youth and engaged in “an altercation with blows being exchanged,” which violated Metro’s protocols for handling passenger behaviour.

RTBU Tasmanian branch secretary Byron Cubit said the recent decision by Metro to axe the driver did not recognise “that people have a right to self-defence”.

“We have seen a huge rise in anti-social and violent behaviour on the road in recent years, things can happen very quickly out there,” he said.

“Bus drivers are not robots, they cannot fit into and focus on correct policies when it comes to defending themselves.

“Bus drivers are not robots, they are human and that needs to be recognised when investigations are occurring into these incidents.”

Mr Cubit said there was a “victim-blaming culture” at Metro that needed to be shifted.

“The behaviour of the company towards the driver has certainly not helped in his recovery, and doesn’t help drivers feel like they have the support of their company,” he said.

Metro bus driver Mark Spong tries out the new screens on buses. Picture: Supplied

The bus driver’s mother Bronny Walsh, who is currently representing her son in proceedings until he is mentally fit to participate, alleges that the incident had been “completely underplayed” by Metro and had not been properly presented in either the workers’ compensation claim or internally.

As part of his unfair dismissal application to the Fair Work Commission, the driver claims a firearm was pulled on him during the incident and he was threatened with it.

Police state that no firearm was involved in the incident.

“There is other CCTV footage onboard the bus that shows one of the youths stating ‘I’m gonna shoot you in the head, c…’, before he begins marching towards my son,” Ms Walsh said.

“He didn’t feel safe enough to stay in a seat without a safety screen, like they should have in place, and he had other passengers on the bus to worry about as well.”

Ms Walsh said her son is also facing traffic offence charges in the Magistrates Court relating to his driving after the assault to Launceston General Hospital where he met police for treatment.

These charges are ongoing.

“He’s obviously totally closed in and completely focused on, ‘I’ve got to get these remaining passengers to safety, I’ve gotta get to hospital, I don’t know how long before I’m gonna collapse from what’s happened’ and people are saying, ‘Well you should’ve waited for help’,” she said.

“When you’ve been threatened and a weapon was present, there’s imminent danger and no time to wait, he knew he had to get out of there.”

Ms Walsh said her son is now battling “severe PTSD” from the incident and struggles with nightmares and panic attacks, as well as struggling to look after his family without a wage.

A Metro bus on Macquarie Street in Hobart on Tuesday 19th November 2024. Picture: Linda Higginson

“He now is really struggling to go into the city, especially at night,” she said.

“It was his birthday recently and we took him to the movies, and there were kids on scooters going past the cinema and he had such a panic attack.

“It’s affecting him every day.”

A Metro spokesman said it takes its obligation to drivers “very seriously”, but that this incident was “ a particularly serious event”.

“Far too often, drivers are subject to incidents of anti-social behaviour which is unacceptable,” the spokesman said.

“If an employee is injured at work, Metro assist employees through their recovery process and back to work in a supportive and timely manner.

“In this instance, the bus operator engaged in conduct that breached Metro’s policies and procedures.

“This was a particularly serious event with the breach putting the safety of passengers and the community at risk.”

Metro stated that it was “standard practice” to provide CCTV to Tasmania Police to help with its investigations into incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Originally published as Bus union backs sacked driver's legal fight