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A bus in Northern England (archive picture): controversial termination
Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Tracey Scholes has been a bus driver in Manchester for 34 years.
Now the 57-year-old should apparently lose her job because she is only 1.52 meters tall - and therefore too small for the new bus models that her employer has procured.
As the Guardian reports, there is resistance to Scholes being expelled: More than 13,000 people are supporting a campaign so that the driver can keep her job.
In order to be able to see the exterior mirrors, Scholes has to lean back in the new bus model - but then she can no longer touch the pedals with her feet.
After the driver complained to her employer, Go North West, she was released from duty.
This was followed by dismissal with a three-month notice period.
The company had offered her other routes with other bus models, but the conditions were worse for her, Scholes told the Guardian.
"I have three children, I am a widow and I have to pay off a mortgage," she said.
"I cannot accept a cut in wages."
A spokesman for the bus company called the driver a valued team member.
"Numerous suggestions have been made to meet her."
But she refused.
"We're sorry that we had no choice but to end this driver's employment."
The design of the buses had been determined in consultation with union representatives, and there were no problems with any driver of a similar size.
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