Travel firm ‘put me in straitjacket’ – ex-boss

THE founder of Barrhead Travel said he felt he was ‘in a straitjacket’ after being sacked following a £36million takeover by a US travel giant.

Bill Munro, 75, founded the company in 1975 but was sacked after it was taken on by American firm Travel Leaders Group (TLG) after it bought out Barrhead Travel in February last year.

He took the company to tribunal in a bid to be reinstated, citing unfair dismissal.

However, the president of TLG, John

O’Hara, told a hearing that the situation was ‘too far gone’ and that Mr Munro had been made redundant due to his being a ‘disruption’.

It had been agreed that Mr Munro would be paid £67 per hour on a zero-hours basis for an ‘ambassadorial’ role, but bosses at TLG were surprised by how many hours he had claimed.

He rejected a new contract on the basis that his 43 years of service to Barrhead Travel would not be recognised, and the company was obliged to pay him £15,000 following the row. Giving evidence, Mr

Munro said: ‘They perfectly knew that they were going to try and get rid of me – it’s all wrong.

‘If I was to be an ambassador I needed to speak to senior people in these companies to know what’s going on. They put me in a straitjacket. They wanted rid of me.’

He added: ‘I’m here to try and get my job back in the travel industry, something I enjoy. I’m not here for money. Travel Leaders were moving the goalposts, not me. I’ve sat at home for two years near enough and been miserable.’

The hearing continues.