Hello everyone,

The date for my preliminary hearing has now been rescheduled for January 13, 2022.

This is more than one year since I sounded the alarm over the spread of COVID-19 infections at Cricklewood bus garage.

My unfair dismissal claim against Metroline will be heard at Watford Employment Tribunal and my lawyers at Leigh Day have briefed a barrister who will present my case.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your ongoing support.

David O’Sullivan

Watford Employment Tribunal has granted an application by Metroline bus company to postpone this Wednesday’s preliminary hearing of David O’Sullivan’s unfair dismissal case.

In a letter to O’Sullivan’s lawyer on Tuesday, the tribunal advised that Metroline’s request for postponement of the November 24 hearing had been referred to Employment Judge Bedeau who had written, “Respondent’s application is granted; it was made in good time following the notice of preliminary hearing.”

A revised listing date has not yet been set. The parties have been advised to provide any dates when they are unavailable over the next six months. There are huge delays in the courts as a result of the pandemic, a situation that has been widely criticised by lawyers and civil liberties groups.

Metroline’s request for postponement was made to the court on August 18 and was supplied to O’Sullivan’s solicitor at Leigh Day on October 18. Lawyers for Metroline, Fidelity Law, informed the court they had an incorrect email address for O’Sullivan’s solicitor and had been unable to inform Leigh Day of their request to delay proceedings.

Clare Nicolaou, consultant solicitor at Fidelity Law, informed the Employment Tribunal a postponement was being sought because she was appearing in a separate hearing for Metroline at Watford that same day. She said her colleague Ms Norris was also unable to attend because she was representing Metroline at a four-day hearing at London Central Tribunal.

O’Sullivan’s solicitors objected to Metroline’s application for a postponement, arguing its stated reasons were not credible.

Leigh Day solicitors wrote to Watford Employment Tribunal on October 19 arguing, “The Claimant [O’Sullivan] fails to see why the Respondent [Metroline], or their representatives are unable to instruct Counsel to deal with the matter on their behalf.

“According to the Respondent’s accounts made up to 31 December 2020 [and] filed on 13 September 2021, the Respondent had a turnover of £343 million in 2020 with an operating profit of £4.5 million. The idea that the Respondent does not have the resources to instruct Counsel to deal with the hearing on their behalf is not credible.”

Leigh Day further noted, “Considering the ET1 [unfair dismissal claim] in this matter was issued on 09 February 2021, and the Preliminary Hearing was listed some 9 months after issue, a further delay to the matter prior to directions being listed is unacceptable to the Claimant, particularly as the Respondent is unable to give any good reason as to why the matter should be delayed in the first place.”

Metroline’s request for a postponement may indicate the company’s nervousness over an increasingly high-profile case.

Hello everyone,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting my fight against unfair dismissal and for the rights of key workers during the pandemic.

My preliminary hearing date has been confirmed for November 24. It will set various orders such as disclosure, witness statements, trial bundles and the date for the eventual trial itself. It is primarily procedural but will establish the timeline for the full hearing.

I was sacked in February for the crime of defending bus drivers’ rights to a safe workplace during a pandemic that has claimed the lives of 69 bus workers in London.

On June 4, with your generous support, we completed the first stage of our Crowd Justice campaign, raising more than £10,000. That figure currently stands at £11,692—a huge achievement.

Once the preliminary hearing is over, the majority of the legal work will begin to prepare for trial. This means I need to raise the remaining £8,308 for legal expenses, including a barrister.

Metroline has hired a top QC and I need your help to prepare my case. I will expose serious safety breaches that had a devastating impact on the lives of so many of my co-workers and their families.

In recent weeks it has been revealed that 95 Transport for London workers lost their lives during the pandemic. COVID-19 infections were rampant across London’s bus garages, with 2,665 confirmed Covid cases between October 2020 and August 2021, according to figures disclosed under Freedom of Information.

This pandemic is far from over and the truth must be established to prevent any more unnecessary deaths. Please help to spread the word, donate again if you are able to, and build support for this test case for the rights of key workers everywhere.

Sincerely,

David O’Sullivan

We have reached our first £10,000 target, 11 days ahead of schedule. This is a fantastic achievement.

I would like to thank every single one of my supporters – your donations large and small have made a huge difference.

This campaign has connected in a lot of ways with drivers’ own experiences, and those of key workers everywhere. It’s clear there is a thirst in the working class for a political fight back.

Dominic Cummings’ revelations at last week’s parliamentary health and science committee proved the Johnson government pursued a “herd immunity” strategy. The pandemic was allowed to spread without the government taking any serious virus eradication measures. This criminal policy was backed by Labour and the trade unions. As my case shows, workers were left defenceless.

In the words of the British Medical Journal, the prioritisation of profits over health and the suppression of scientific advice has resulted in a “maelstrom of avoidable harm”, including the deaths of more than 150,000 people. The same agenda has been pursued by governments all over the world, from the United States and India, to Brazil, France and Germany.

The issues raised in my campaign are universal ones facing working people all over the world. Data supplied by Crowd Justice shows the largest source of donor referrals has come via the World Socialist Web Site, which is read by growing numbers of workers worldwide.

I wish to publicly thank the WSWS for their support and for bringing my case to the attention of workers across the UK, Europe and internationally. I would also like to thank the team at Crowd Justice for all of their help.

This first £10,000 will allow my lawyers at Leigh Day to begin preparing my unfair dismissal case. Our stretch goal of £20,000 is needed to finance representation by a barrister at the hearing, which is likely to take place over several days. Please keep donating. I will keep everyone updated.

This is the first step in a public campaign that is winning growing support. In the past fortnight I have received messages from bus drivers in London, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester as well as transport workers, teachers, postal workers, miners and IT workers from Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and India.

As the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 is on the rise, with a dangerous uptick in infections and hospital admissions, this legal test case for key workers’ rights to a safe workplace in the pandemic takes on new urgency. Thank you once again, and please continue to do all you can to support this fight.

Yours sincerely,

David O’Sullivan

Visit my campaign page at:  https://www.wsws.org/en/topics/campaigns/defend-david-osullivan

Please continue to share my Crowd Justice page with your work colleagues, friends and family: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/test-case-for-key-worker-rights-during-pandemic/

My deep, heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated so far to my Crowd Justice fundraiser. It’s a fantastic result.

In just a few days we’ve passed the half-way mark on the first £10,000 hurdle that I need to pass by June 16.

Metroline will fight tooth and nail to uphold my victimisation and sacking, and they have big resources. ComfortDelGro, the parent company, is worth more than £1 billion. But we have truth on our side.

At least 60 London bus workers have died from COVID-19. Our rights to a safe workplace have been systematically denied.

Please help spread the word. Here are some things you can do:

Email 5 friends and ask them to donate

Share my Crowd Justice page on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tik Tok https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/test-case-for-key-worker-rights-during-pandemic/

Share this campaign video https://youtu.be/mwHzcvsY_ic

Altogether, I must raise £20,000. This includes fees for a barrister to challenge Metroline’s QC.

I have a big target to reach, but with your support I know we can get there.

Yours sincerely,

David O’Sullivan