‘%#!* off Karen’: Sacked bus driver hero speaks
Surfside Buslines driver Amie Logsdon was unfairly dismissed after asking an abusive passenger to get off the bus. While she bravely fought for reinstatement, the sorry saga has taken its toll
AMIE Logsdon is a reluctant hero.
While the former Surfside Buslines driver wishes the events of September 16 last year never transpired, she does not regret her actions.
In the midst of the pandemic and strict mask mandates on public transport, this 55-yearold Gold Coast driver merely asked a passenger, who sat in a disabled passenger’s seat after not paying his fare, to pull his mask up from his chin to cover his mouth and nose.
“F*** off, Karen,” was the response she received.
Six days later, she was dismissed.
Last month, the Fair Work Commissioner ruled she was unfairly dismissed by Surfside Buslines and ordered her reinstatement.
This month, she was awarded a social justice award by Maurice Blackburn lawyers, who acted for her in relation to her Workcover claim, in recognition of her courage in protecting herself and her passengers, as well as the fight she endured to justify her reinstatement.
Today, she just wants to put the episode behind her and focus on addressing the anxiety and mental health pressures she has been left with.
Because the truth is, simply driving a bus these days is medal-worthy.
“Driving a bus really is a frontline job and you’re on your own,” says Amie.
“It’s tough when you’re dealing with abuse or disrespect, but I actually really loved my job.
“The vast majority of my passengers were wonderful people – the elderly who caught the bus every day, school kids who you want to look after – it’s just a real slice of life at every stop.
“But I think when the pandemic started, everyone’s tensions, tempers and anxieties were raised.
“I would just always remind people to wear their masks or to socially distance.
“To me, it was always about looking after everyone.
“On that particular day, it was a guy who was just disrespectful and it escalated. I wish it hadn’t happened.
“It’s been an incredibly hard time for me.”
The full details of Amie’s experience were presented before Fair Work Commissioner Bernie Riordan in January.
After Amie’s initial request for the passenger to wear a mask, he claimed to have an exemption, and when asked why he was wearing a mask (on his chin), he said it was because he had just visited a friend in day surgery.
After she again asked the passenger to “please’’ put his mask on, the man said: “F*** off, Karen’’.
Amie then told him he could get off at the next stop for verbally abusing her and when he refused to get off, she contacted her control room, which called the police. She asked the other passengers to get off the bus and arranged for the next service to collect them.
The Commissioner heard that Amie was dismissed for trying to enforce the Queensland government mask mandate “in breach of Surfside Buslines’ policy’’.
She was told her decision to disregard company direction and attempt to enforce the wearing of masks was not consistent with behaviours and standards of the company.
Translink required mandatory mask wearing by staff, but frontline staff were “not expected to undertake any enforcement activities in relation to passengers not wearing a mask’’.
The bus company said she was dismissed for serious misconduct, after an investigation into a complaint of inappropriate behaviour towards a passenger and that she could have avoided the conflict.
But Commissioner Ri
ordan found that Amie did not engage in “enforcement’’ of the mask mandate, but was concerned about the safety of herself and her passengers.
He said the passenger was asked to leave the bus because he verbally abused the driver, not because he refused to wear his mask, and that Surfside Buslines did not have a valid reason to sack Amie.
He ordered the company to reinstate the “proud and caring bus driver’’ to her former role, with continuity of service and backpay.
“I find it incredulous that any employer would dismiss an employee for asking a passenger to comply with a government mandate,” said Commissioner Riordan.
“This abuse is clearly a breach of the passenger’s responsibility to act in accordance with Translink’s Passenger Code of Conduct.
“The passenger claimed to be a law student. The respondent should have sent the appropriate section of the video to the dean of law at the local university so that he could be identified and appropriate action taken against him, rather than dismiss the applicant.”
Despite the victory, Amie’s battle has taken its toll.
She’s suffered from anxiety, with her application for treatment to Workcover being denied.
However, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have successfully
overturned that decision, meaning she can now access the support she needs.
Claire Gibbs, from Maurice Blackburn, said the Workcover result was an important win for Amie.
“We awarded Amie a social justice award to honour her strength in standing up for the safety of her passengers, but her courage has also taken its toll,” she says.
“We are pleased this outcome means that she’ll get some help as she works to move on with her life.”
But the Transport Workers Union, which represented Amie before the Fair Work Commission, says more support is needed for all bus drivers.
“Amie’s experience of abuse from a passenger is the daily lived experience of many drivers, with a lack of safety screens and limited security, drivers all over Queensland are on their own when conflict
arises,” a spokesman said.
“We are asking for an increase in customer service officers (security on buses) to keep passengers safe, implement public health orders and discourage antisocial behaviour.
“It takes courage to stand up for the safety of your passengers and to stand up to your employer when treated unfairly. Amie took a stand for herself, her passengers and her workmates and has been recognised for her courage.
“Bus drivers were asked to do the impossible during the pandemic. While they were on the frontlines putting their health at risk, in many cases, they were not allowed to enforce public health directions and continue to have very few safety measures in place.”
For Amie, she is ready to begin the next stage of her life.
But she has a message for all passengers on public transportation: be kind.
“I don’t know if what I did was brave, I just felt I had to do the right thing – whether respecting the safety and rights of my passengers or myself.
“Every driver and every worker is doing the best they can. Think about other people on the bus as well. We’re all just trying to get through our day.
“It’s a tough world for everyone, but the least we can do is show kindness and respect.”
Indeed, according to Amie’s advice, every bus ride could be a hero’s journey.
Driving a bus really is a frontline job and you’re on your own.