• A Former Co-op lorry driver who claims he was
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forced to drive dangerous vehicles by management has lost his Fight for compensation. John Westwood told an industrial tribunal that he quit the Central Midlands Co-operative Society in Birmingham because he risked losing his LGV licence if stopped by police.
He claimed that defects on trucks he drove while delivering packaged milk throughout the West Midlands included a bent chassis, gear linkage problems and a missing wing. The tribunal rejected his claim of constructive dismissal after hearing that he failed to follow any grievance procedure when he left in December.
Tony Curtis, the solicitor who acted on behalf of the Co-op, said drivers had made complaints about defective vehicles but these had been sorted out three months before Westwood left. "Drivers were told on no account to take out any vehicle they felt unsafe," he said after the hearing. "It was also made clear to middle management not to instruct a driver to take out vehicle if they thought it unsafe."