Sacked railway worker drops unfair dismissal claim

From: Bournemouth Daily Echo

A “Walter Mitty” railway worker who “fictitiously” claimed he was sacked for removing a shopping trolley from a track withdrew his claim for unfair dismissal today.

Ian Faletto alleged he was sacked after 27 years’ service by South West Trains for removing the trolley at Lymington railway station in Hampshire, where he was ticket office clerk, in March this year.

Many local people supported his campaign to get his job back and New Forest MP Desmond Swayne handed a 8,400 petition to Parliament in support of the award-winning worker.

But after he was presented with new evidence, his counsel advised him to drop his claim, prompting a strong statement from SWT who described the allegations by Mr Faletto as “fictitious Walter-Mitty-style claims.”

It said it was angry about the trolley claim, that Mr Faletto stepping on to tracks were “foolhardy actions” and that it was “doubly upsetting that many well-meaning people in community were so misled”.

Mr Faletto, 50, had alleged he contacted the signalman to turn off the power and then removed the trolley to prevent an accident.

Speaking outside the employment tribunal building in Southampton, Mr Faletto, from Totton, Hants, maintained that the trolley was on the railway track.

“The way they have treated me after 27 years’ momentous service is very disappointing.

“It’s very difficult to fight such a large company. They have basically said they have other evidence and I have been strongly advised by my counsel to withdraw.”

Director of SWT Jake Kelly said: “We are pleased that Mr Faletto has finally withdrawn his case, which proves definitively that there was never any substance to the claims he made.

“However, we remain angry at the way these fictitious Walter-Mitty-style claims were so quickly reported as fact. It is also doubly upsetting that many well-meaning people in community were so misled.

“This was a matter of principle and integrity and we were fully prepared to outline the truth to the employment tribunal.

“We are confident that they had heard all of the evidence, they would have found in our favour. For the avoidance of doubt, we have made no payment to settle this case and nor have we ever considered doing so.

“As we have maintained all along, this case involved a serious breach of safety. The fact is that there is no evidence to show that there was a trolley on the track, as Mr Faletto claimed, and the safety of our passengers was not compromised at any point.

“The only safety risk was caused by Mr Faletto’s foolhardy actions in knowingly stepping down onto an area of live track for no justifiable reason.”

 

Finally Mr Faletto has realised that his lies could only go so far, unfortunately it has taken months of peoples time and also destroyed the trust of local people to get to aa point that should have been reached immediately.  Due to the amount of bad press this case has caused Southwest Trains, I do hope that they themselves will look at taking action against Mr Faletto in some way.

Sacked Lymington stationmaster Ian Faletto will continue to fight for his job

I don’t really want to go over this whole topic again but the article below has some new elements that I feel need to be commented on.  My comments are in bold text throughout the article.

Source: Bournemouth Daily Echo

HE may have been sacked from his beloved job, but Ian Faletto is still fighting. Despite the prospect of a messy battle with his former employer South West Trains, the award-winning employee, buoyed by community support, has said he will continue to fight for his job at Lymington railway station.

Mr Faletto, 49, was sacked by the company for removing a shopping trolley that had been dumped on the line near the station.  Mr Faletto  was dismissed for breaching safety critical rules, not for removing the trolley.

The dismissal prompted a campaign and a 6,500-name petition led by the Rev Alex Russell and thousands of others including New Forest MP Desmond Swayne calling for him to be reinstated.

Mr Faletto said he has been overwhelmed by the response. “I never realised I was so popular or so highly regarded or thought of.”

Referring to his dismissal, he said: “I was shocked they were making an issue out of what had happened.  Shocked about an issue being made about breaching safety rules and putting his own life at risk.  Train Operating Companies ALWAYS inform employees about safety rules and what happens if they are breached.

“I had done my damnedest to prevent a rail accident. I know of people that have done similar things and it has not been a problem.  I was acting in good faith.”  “Prevent a Rail Accident”.  The line speed at Lymington is reported as being 20-25mph, this at most would have caused superficial damage to the train and would not have caused a derailment as previously stated by Mr Faletto.  

But despite the high-profile controversy, he still hopes to return to his job.

“I love it. Every day is different. I love meeting different people and dealing with different things. Also the fact that I am doing something – I like to be doing something all the time.  At the moment I’m trying to find things to do. It’s hard.”

SWT have said the facts of the case are ‘fundamentally different to the picture that has been painted to date’.

A company spokesman added: “We are ready to ensure the full facts are made public at an employment tribunal and would defend our position vigorously if required.”  Southwest Trains have acted superbly in their way of dealing with the press as a result of this incident.  They are not mud slinging in public and have preferred not to comment until any legal action is launched.

But Mr Faletto said: “Everything I have said is true. I think they will try to throw back anything they can to defend themselves.”  Or perhaps they will reveal facts that have not been previously reported that show that Mr Faletto is indeed at fault, there may even be evidence of previous breaches by Mr Faletto.

After 27 years on the railway, Ian has amassed a rather impressive collection of trophies and awards, testifying to his commitment and outstanding service.

The former ticket office clerk has also invested his own money in the improvements, buying sweets for the waiting room, paint for the floors, carpets, heaters and even putting his own Christmas tree there.  Is it me or do the press seem to be making an awful lot about this “generosity” as if it excuses what Mr Faletto has done?

As a response to the article, a reader posted the following comment:-

MJD, HAMWORTHY says…
10:56am Mon 23 May 11
Yes he broke the rules, as he did not have a permit to go on the road. Now look at it another way SWT. Daily Echo Head lines. 30 killed in Lymington train disaster as SWT staff couldn’t be bothered to remove shopping trolley from the Road due to not having a permit ???? Health and safety gone mad.

This comment shows once again how sensationalistic the general public can be.  The likelihood of disaster is ZERO!! The only person at risk of death or injury was Mr Faletto himself for not following established procedure.  It is not the fact that staff cannot be bothered, there are strict procedures that MUST be followed.  If those procedures were not followed, everyone could just jump down on the tracks and a lot more fatalities would result.

As usual, the UK press grab hold of a story and try and sensationalise everything about it to have a dig at the railways.  I always thought that the UK press was Impartial but once again they act whilst only havig one side of the story.  I honestly hope that an employment tribunal is called for this case and that Southwest Trains get the opportunity to present their evidence in an impartial setting, then perhaps this case can be laid to bed.