Driver lost his job for refusing a face mask
A DELIVERY driver is believed to be the first worker to be sacked for objecting to wearing a face mask in lockdown.
Deimantas Kubilius arrived at the Tate and Lyle refinery in east London and ignored requests to put one on while in his lorry’s cab.
Bosses were worried truckers could spread the virus while speaking out of the window and started giving them a mask at the gate.
But Mr Kubilius argued that “my cab is my home”. Tate and Lyle’s Nick Kirbyshire said: “That mask was to protect everyone.”
The sugar firm complained and the driver was sacked by his bosses at distribution firm Kent Foods in Basildon, Essex.
In a landmark case, Employment Judge Rachel Barrett dismissed his unfair dismissal claim at the East London tribunal centre.
The judge said “the decision to dismiss fell within the range of reasonable responses”.
AFTER enduring months of exam uncertainty and grade confusion, it was a relief to be promised I could start my first year at university and expect an experience not too far from “normal”.
My experience is far from normal. I haven’t even been on campus yet.
Luckily, my degree course is now online, much like that of the Open University. It is convenient, good quality and enjoyable.
The difference is that I am paying far more than Open University students – £9,250/year versus around £6,000/year (for the same course).
I, along with thousands of other students, have been completely mis-sold this education.
Libraries are closed or at limited
Lydia Harrison-Graham, 19, from Marple, Stockport, is in her first year at Newcastle University studying Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting
capacity, facilities for my course are shut and in-person lectures are off “until further notice”.
So why am I not being given some of my money back? The simple answer is these billionpound universities do not care.
Whilst my debt is racking up, mental health issues also start to creep in. Nearly 75 per cent of students feel their mental health has worsened since Covid-19.
Being confined to a small box room, paying on average £550 a month cannot help. And it gets worse...the only support that the most vulnerable have had is emails
or notes with a list of helplines to call if “you’re feeling down”.
What kind of support network is that? I chose to stay at home for my first year. The only positive is that I’m not being ripped off for accommodation.
Throughout this pandemic, there has been a lack of clarity and responsibility taken, not just in education. What I want, along with the rest of the student population, is a partial refund.
If a holiday company can give a money-back guarantee for changes due to Covid-19, the same should apply to my education.