Transport Minister Terry Lister was said to be very unhappy after senior colleagues prompted the reinstatement of a bus driver who was fired.Mr Lister is said to have wanted to stick by the decision to sack the employee for gross misconduct despite drivers going on strike and Bermuda Industrial Union threatening a general strike.But it’s understood the decision was reversed after the Minister received communication from Premier Paula Cox.That came after Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess the former BIU president got involved in negotiations with current president Chris Furbert, leading to an agreement that the driver would be given his job back.Mr Lister declined to comment yesterday, while Ms Cox said she’d given no directive other than encouraging him to meet Mr Furbert.However, several sources said Mr Lister was upset the decision appeared to have been taken out of his hands, when many people were hoping Government would stand up to the threat of industrial action.The dispute began when the employee called in sick as a driver, but then worked a different shift re-fuelling buses for a colleague.He was fired by the Department of Public Transport, prompting bus operators to strike last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday amid claims he should only have been suspended because of his 18 years of service.On Thursday, Mr Lister spelled out his distaste for the employee’s behaviour, saying: “To defend it is really quite extraordinary.”But the punishment was downgraded to five weeks’ suspension, a letter attached to his file and a year’s probation after Mr Lister said the BIU had threatened a general strike.Asked by this newspaper last Friday whether the decision had been his alone to make, Mr Lister replied: “That is the official word.”Yesterday, when told sources were saying he was displeased at the U-turn, which they said came after the intervention of Mr Burgess and Ms Cox, Mr Lister declined to comment, saying: “The dispute is over.”Responding to the same information, Ms Cox’s press secretary Beverle Lottimore said: “No directive was given to the Minister other than encouraging his meeting with the BIU president.“Equally categoric was that there should not be a mere slap on the wrist and no payment should be made.“There was an urgency to have the matter settled in the public interest. The Premier relies on Ministers to use sound judgment.”Mr Burgess did not respond to a request for comment.This newspaper has received numerous comments from readers, many of whom are angry Government backed down.Three years ago, former Transport Minister and Premier Ewart Brown was heavily criticised after granting a reprieve to drunk ferry pilot Dwayne Pearman following pressure from the union.Pearman was fired after crashing a fast ferry carrying 60 passengers into a dock while more than twice over the legal alcohol limit.A day after declaring “safety must not be compromised”, Dr Brown announced Pearman had been offered a position as a seaman, after the BIU threatened to bring all public transport to a halt.