Bus services ground to a halt yesterday afternoon as drivers clashed with the Department of Public Transportation over the firing of a veteran driver.The worker was reportedly fired because he called in sick from driving the bus, but worked a shift at a second job that same day refuelling buses, filling in for a co-worker.While the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) said the offence was minor compared to his record of service, the Department of Transport said the worker had also forged signatures and had been suspended in the past for a similar incident.It is not known how long the industrial action will last.At a press conference shortly after 4pm yesterday, BIU leader Chris Furbert announced the strike, saying: “The DPT released one of our workers yesterday with 18 years of service. We had a meeting at 2pm and the management has upheld the termination.“We are not condoning his actions, what he has done. I don’t think what he has done is all that bad. He was out sick, he did a second job on the side for a co-worker who was off on vacation. The other job was actually on DPT premises.”“They are saying they consider his actions as one of gross misconduct, and they are saying he is terminated.”Mr Furbert said that even if the worker’s actions were deemed gross misconduct, he should have been suspended rather than being terminated.“It doesn’t even look like they’ve given his 18 years of good service any consideration, and that’s very unfortunate. Now we have what you could call a Mexican standoff.“I did reach out to [Transport Minister Terry Lister] before we shut service down. I couldn’t get him, but I got the permanent secretary. She spoke with the Minister, and the Minister’s position is he considers it gross misconduct, and he should be fired.“The only mistake I think he made was that he failed to reach out to management and let them know that he is off sick, and he is coming in to do this second job.”Mr Furbert said he was seeking for the driver’s reinstatement, with a suspension to demonstrate that he had made a mistake.However a spokesman for the Transportation Department said: “The individual previously had done the same thing, working at an outside job while on sick leave.“On that occasion, the decision to terminate the individual was reduced to two weeks suspension due to his years of service.”The spokesman said that the driver had called in sick three consecutive days, while at the same time turning up at work at an outside vendor located on Public Transportation property.“The individual also forged the signature of that vendor for the three days.“As this latest incident constitutes gross misconduct, management of DPT made the decision to terminate the employee.”Just before 5pm yesterday, dozens of people filled the last buses departing the Hamilton Bus Terminal as staff co-ordinated.One passenger said: “I’ve been running around trying to get the change. The ticket booth is closed and who knows when the next bus is coming.”Another said she had no idea the buses had been cancelled.“I was wondering why there were so few buses,” she said. “Now I guess I’ll have to get a taxi.”Around an hour after the last bus ran, a handful of people were still sat at the station, trying to get in contact with someone who could help them get home.“They need to give us more notice than this,” Clarence Rogers said. “I still need to work out how I’m going to get to work tomorrow morning. I can’t afford to take cabs everywhere.”Last year, Government agreed to forgive the BUI’s Berkeley Performance Bond payment in an agreement to end ‘wildcat’ strikes and provide a 21-day cooling off period before industrial action.However, since that agreement, bus service was halted in the aftermath of Hurricane Igor due to safety concerns after one bus collided with a fallen branch and several others had near misses.