Fucked Bus Drivers in Aomori :(

[FG Lurker]

Sacked for being educated
Herald Sun, January 22, 2005

The city of Aomori in northern Japan has fired two bus drivers for concealing their college education backgrounds, which it said made them overqualified for the job.

The city government said the two men passed exams to be bus drivers, which are open only to those with education up to high school level.

One of the two, 43, had a university education, while the other, aged 35, was a junior college graduate. They had been working as bus drivers for seven years and nine months and five years and nine months, respectively.

A government official said they were dismissed for lying about their backgrounds, and that such acts undermine public confidence.

[American Oyaji]

DAMN....

Thats just foul. A man needs a job. a job is a job. Why does it matter if he had more education.

[Pizzicatoblue]

Because the world isn't nice, that's why.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Holy shit. That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[leathernick]

Holy shit. That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Definitely. On another note, whaen they were confronted by the boss, couldn't they have played dumb and said "That's not me?"

[AssKissinger]

A lot of college educated people have jobs a lot less mentally taxing than driving a bus in Aomori. Public transportation isn't easy at all, I don't care if you're a cabbie, bus driver or a pilot, it takes brains to do it well. I know a lot of college educated people couldn't handle the pressure of being a bus driver, up there on those narrow icey roads. The assumption that a bus driver should be less educated is very snobish and also very stupid. It really really pisses me off. But I'm sure they're just looking for any excuse to fire veteran workers to hire cheaper new labor. Politicians line their pockets and pay off yakuza with this kind of shit all the time. I hope the bus drivers of Japan stick together on this one. I'd like to see Japan go one day without buses. And to anyone who looks down on bus drivers or assumes they are less educated or less intelligent than other people I say to you: FUCK OFF AND DIE!

[cliffy]

As an ex-coach driver, I did charter work not routes, I find the assumption of low intelect of bus drivers insulting. Believe it or not it is a vocation, not just the best job a poorly educated person can get. This just makes me frustrated with the 'educated management' mentality. Ability counts for something does it not?

rant off but still on stand-by

[Big Booger]

I think it ridiculous to fire someone for being "over-qualified"... why in the hell would you do that? I'd rather have someone is "over-qualified" than someone who is under-qualified.

I suppose this happens to quite a few people looking for jobs. I guess employers are afraid that the "over-qualified" will get bored quick and move on to something better??? I dunno.

[Andocrates]

People are generally not given employment if they are overqualified because the fear they are just "passing through." But good lord man, 7 years on the job should earn you some leeway. Sad for the 43 year old guy, what's he supposed to do now?

[FG Lurker]

People are generally not given employment if they are overqualified because the fear they are just "passing through." But good lord man, 7 years on the job should earn you some leeway.

Agreed on both counts.

Also a lot of managers are fearful of hiring people smarter/better educated than themselves. They worry about losing their own jobs to those they hire. Insecurity in the workplace.

[cstaylor]

IIRC, it's a regulation for hiring up there. The two men lied about their backgrounds to get the jobs, and the truth finally caught up with them.

The problem is with the regulation, and I'd wager the regulation was designed so that country boys, who couldn't afford university and are locked out of Japan's corporate world, could find stable employment with the city's transportation department. I don't think brains (or lack thereof) was implied at all.

[AssKissinger]

IIRC, it's a regulation for hiring up there. The two men lied about their backgrounds to get the jobs, and the truth finally caught up with them.

The problem is with the regulation, and I'd wager the regulation was designed so that country boys, who couldn't afford university and are locked out of Japan's corporate world, could find stable employment with the city's transportation department. I don't think brains (or lack thereof) was implied at all.

Oh damn, I didn't think of that. Kind of squelches my reasons for being so pissed, doesn't it? Well, great post, and thanks for the info and for what was a totally unexpected angle.