Man who lost job over insurance row inspired by act of WWII defiance

The 43-year-old who lost his job over a vehicle insurance row with his employer said yesterday that he drew strength from his grandfather’s act of defiance during the Second World War.

Pejazyr Cakolli was last week awarded €50,000 by the Labour Court after it found that he was unfairly dismissed by Swissport Ireland Ltd over his refusal to drive vehicles that did not carry insurance or tax disks on publically-accessible roads at Shannon Airport.

In an interview, Mr Cakolli said his dismissal and his two-year fight at the Labour Court and Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) have taken a tremendous toll on him. Mr Cakolli said that following his dismissal “I was psychologically very poor”.