Cuckoo bullies drove British Airways engineer from job

May 4 2008

A BRITISH Airways engineer claims he was forced to quit his job after workplace bullies branded him "cuckoo".

Sam Auld, of Beith, Ayrshire, said he decided to speak out after Scots pilot Doug Maughan, 53, last week claimed that racism was rife in BA.

Union rep Sam, 52, says there was a bullying campaign about his mental state after he exposed safety breaches at the BA maintenance hangar at Glasgow Airport.

His complaints were investigated by BA executive Ken Petrie who said in a letter: "Over the last five years we have had a number of incidents of harassment and bullying.

"Whilst these can be between two individuals or a small group, it has become clear to me that the actions of a larger group of staff can add to the impact and increase the damage."

Sam said: "At one point I had to sit in my car during breaks to get away from the harassment.

"I complained to senior management but there was no action taken against those responsible.

"Individuals would shout out, 'Cuckoo' and it was written on stickers."

A British Airways spokesman said last night: "The allegations made by Mr Auld were dealt with appropriately in consultation with him and with his agreement.

"We are disappointed he now seeks to publicly criticise the company for its actions in respect of these allegations."