PROTEST PLIGHT
CABBIES PROTEST OUT-OF-TOWN DRIVERS TAKING WELWYN GARDEN CITY USINESS
Cabbies working with a leading WGC private hire compa- ny held a day of work stoppage in protest of
their
employment condi- tions last month. According to the Welwyn Hatfield Times,
the self-
employed private hire drivers, all mem- bers of Welwyn Hatfield Taxi Drivers’ Union, were demon- strating about the terms of their work with AAA Taxis, one of the largest cab companies in the borough.
The protest had the backing of national workers’ union GMB. On Tuesday, July 3, dozens of drivers gathered at Mun- dells with their cars and GMB flags. The cabbies were objecting to AAA’s use of drivers licensed by Trans- port
for London
(TfL) for Welwyn Hatfield jobs, which they say is eating into their business. One driver said his takings had plum- meted by between 60 to 70 per cent in recent months.
GMB say that under the process called triple licensing, the operator, driver and vehicle should all come from the area foirm which the job was called. The
protesting
drivers said they want more scrutiny on cross-border hir- ing of drivers as a national issue. Steve Garelick, reg- ional officer
for
GMB, also attended the protest and said: “It takes a lot for drivers to protest like this. The guys here need a quality
of life and they need to be able to earn an income.” He added the TfL- licensed
drivers
“don’t know the area, and they don’t know the clientele”. He expressed partic- ular concern about the possibility that contracts for the school run could be subcontracted to non-local drivers. The demonstrating drivers say that AAA has not responded to their ongoing attempts to discuss the situation, promp- ting the protest.
A spokesperson for AAA responded to say that they regu- larly discuss issues with drivers on an individual and group basis. On the day of the protest, AAA declined to com- ment, but told the WHT: “As far as we’re concerned it’s business as usual for our customers.” A spokesperson for Welwyn Hatfield BC said in response to the drivers’ calls for greater
scrutiny:
“This has become a problem for drivers across the country
and we’ve been sup- porting the lobbying at a national level calling for the law change to be looked at again. “We’ve also been working closely with TfL over many months to investi- gate operator act- ivity in London and hope to make a fur- ther announcement soon.” As a next step, the drivers are planning to arrange ameeting with Welwyn Hat- field MP Grant Shapps to discuss their concerns.
MANCHESTER AIRPORT CABBIES STOPPED PICKING UP PASSENGERS DUE TO RANK DISPUTE
Black cab drivers stopped picking up from all Manchester Airport terminals as part of a dispute over a new Terminal 3 (T3) taxi rank. The row between Unite the union and airport bosses esca- lated through the day, with drivers ini- tially boycotting just the new rank - which is around the corner from the terminal and not visible to passengers. Drivers claim this positioning discrimi- nates against dis- abled passengers - and hackney cabs. It takes the place of the current rank, which is closer to the terminal exit and more visible to pas- sengers.
It’s been
moved to make way for more drop-off
60
bays for the new ‘kiss and fly’ passen- ger charging system. The original rank had space for 12 cabs, while the new one will only take four at a time. In protest, black cab drivers were using the passenger drop- off bays outside T3 to pick up passen- gers on Monday 2 July afternoon. But at 6.30pm they moved to a full with- drawal of services. Yucel Polat, a driver and Unite rep, said: “We were getting threats and drivers were getting moved on fromall terminals. We get the feeling they don’t want black cabs here. “At international air- ports around the world the first thing passengers see when
system that reduces congestion and pro- vides
cessions the best
experience to our customers. We be- lieve we
have Protest at Terminal 3 Manchester Airport
they step outside is a taxi rank. But not here.” Drivers also take issue with the facili- ties at the feeder park on Ringway Road - where they wait before being directed to the ter- minals by airport marshals. They say hundreds of drivers have to share three run-down toilets and that facilities have
been left to deterio- rate. A Manchester Air- port
spokesman
said: “We note the intention of a group of drivers notto serve our terminals until further notice. “In developing our new forecourt ar- rangements, we considered the inter- ests of more than 25 different user groups to come up with a
chosen the best location for the rank at T3. It is a similar distance away from the terminal than the previous rank, with new signage put in place to guide all arriving passengers to the right location. “This signage has been tested with passengers prior to the new rank open- ing and has proven to be effective. “We have been in dialogue with the hackney carriage community over a number of concerns they have raised aboutthe T3 rank and believe we have made several con-
in an
attempt to resolve the issue. “Among
other
things, these include the guarantee of a review of the new system after six weeks and the provi- sion by Manchest- er Airport of a dedi- cated taxi marshal inside Terminal 3 to direct arriving pas- sengers to the new rank. “That is why it is dis- appointing
this
action has been taken before the effects on the hack- ney trade, if any, are truly known. “However, we re- main committed to working with the hackney carriage community to find a solution that is fair to all users of Manchester Airport.”
AUGUST 2018
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