A Model Employer
Sydney Hayter was a model employer. For example, he had planned to provide his staff with housing but finances had never become adequate for this; however, he would take groups of his staff to Littlehampton on their day off, take them fishing in his boat, take them for a meal and provide tickets for a variety show. Sometimes a group would accompany Sydney to a football match at Wembley. All dealings within the company were on first-name terms (unusual at that time) and passengers, too, were on first name terms with the crews. A club room was provided at the bus garage, fitted with a TV and sporting facilities, and regular social events were organised. An annual outing to the coast was organised for staff and families (on two weekends, so that all could attend). The staff were offered the opportunity to join a union but, having such a benevolent employer, none chose to do so. This resulted in an incident in 1957 during the national bus strike (through which YBS continued to operate) when a Yellow Bus en route from Farnham was "held-up" by 20 militant union members from the Aldershot and District company, who prevented the driver from continuing, and deflated his vehicle's tyres.
Read more about this topic: Yellow Bus Services
Famous quotes containing the words model and/or employer:
“If the man who paints only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees before him were an artist, the king of artists would be the photographer. It is for the artist to do something beyond this: in portrait painting to put on canvas something more than the face the model wears for that one day; to paint the man, in short, as well as his features.”
—James Mcneill Whistler (1834–1903)
“If factory-labor is not a means of education to the operative of to-day, it is because the employer does not do his duty. It is because he treats his work-people like machines, and forgets that they are struggling, hoping, despairing human beings.”
—Harriet H. Robinson (1825–1911)