SCOTTISH UPDATE
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL LEAD THE WAY IN SUPPORTING OUR TRADE IN SCOTLAND
licensing fees by all local authorities to assist drivers at this time.
Dundee taxi operating companies, regardless of employee numbers, that can evidence significant non-staff costs for fleet maintenance can now apply for a one-off grant of £10,000.
Also, a further £900,000 of financial support has been approved by the city council for an extra taxi driver grant which will provide a discretionary top-up of £1,000 in addition to the £1,500 which has already been paid out.
Mark Flynn, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said: “This £900,000 extra will help address the ongoing challenges that the sector is facing as a result of the pandemic, in particular restrictions on travel and reductions in footfall.
“There is no need for drivers to contact the council or reapply, we will be in touch with eligible drivers to arrange the top-up payments to be made into their nominated bank accounts.”
PHTM applauds Dundee council for this extra financial support and the cash boost has been hailed as a national example by unions, amid calls for the grants to be rolled out across Scotland.
Trade union Unite Scotland welcomed this further support announced by Dundee City Council and is now demanding that all local authorities in Scotland follow the lead of Dundee as its repeats its call for the suspension of
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Willie Thomson, Unite industrial officer, said: “We welcome this support from Dundee City Council. It’s desperately needed for many drivers whose income has been and continues to be decimated by Covid and the current restrictions. Other councils including those of our largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, must follow Dundee’s lead and do more to help workers and families in the taxi trade.
“Through no fault of their own many of our members have been refused support over the past 12 months. They continue to face significant financial hardship as a result of drastically reduced trade. Taxis remain a vital part of our public transport network and more support from the Scottish Government must be delivered. The Scottish government must recognise the high fixed costs faced by many taxi operators and deliver support to these workers.”
Unite is also calling on the Scottish government to deliver a £10,000 grant for every taxi operator in Scotland, which is the equivalent support being given to other small business owners, and for an additional second cash grant to all Scottish drivers from the £57m Coronavirus (Covid-19): Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund.
Councillor Mark Flynn
A recent Scottish Parliament petition lodged by Unite in March calling for more support for the taxi trade has gained thousands of signatures.
In December 2020, an online survey of over 200 taxi drivers released by Unite Scotland highlighted that many drivers are regularly working 16-17-hour days with a shift being determined as having been ‘good’ if £50 is cleared. The survey also showed that 30% of drivers had at the time been unable to access any financial help from government support schemes. For those that had been able to access financial help from government the biggest group (37%) reported that it represented less than 25% of their average earnings.
For further information or enquiries:
https://bit.ly/31z4XWS Email:
dbg@dundeecity.gov.uk Tel: 01382 433 500
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This £900,000 extra will help address the ongoing challenges that the sector is facing as a result of the pandemic, in particular restrictions on travel and reductions in footfall.
APRIL 2021
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