THE TAXI TRADE AND
PHTM was sent the following article by Zulfiqar Ali, who has been involved in the trade for over 30 years, as both a hackney and private hire driver.
Mr Ali is licensed by Kirklees Council. He told PHTM: “I have written this based on my own experience as a driver, dealing with passengers and the authorities. It came to a point where I had to speak out about the way we taxi drivers are treated by individu- als and organisations who are supposedly there to safeguard us.”
Zulfiqar Ali
His story ties in very well with our current campaign to raise awareness amongst Gov- ernment officials about #the forgotten industry…
1833 was the year when slavery was finally abolished in the UK. Initially the Slave Trade Act of 1807 prohibited the slave trade in the British Empire but it did not mean slavery was abolished. Slav- ery continued until it was finally abolished as a result of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
A hidden form of slavery exists 187 years later in the modern day. One example of the emergence of modern-day slavery is the taxi industry in the UK and across the world.
The most prevalent victims of modern-day slavery in the UK have originated from many countries including from Eastern Europe and South East Asia. People of South East Asian heritage initially immigrated to the UK between the mid-1950’s to mid- 1960’s. Like many immigrants at the time they worked at manual labour jobs such as in factories and mills.
People of Eastern European descent, some of whom were Jewish, also immigrated to the UK roughly around the same time period. At first they also worked in the factories and mills, but many would then go on to set up small successful businesses.
The Eastern Europeans were followed by the Irish who were a major part of the workforce involved in construction and infras- tructure development. Following the Second World War there was a large labour force shortage in the UK which was filled by the people of those countries mentioned earlier.
PLETHORA OF NATIONALITIES
A large portion of the labour force was also supplied by countries from the British Commonwealth, at the time including India, Pak- istan, Bangladesh, Jamaica and the West Indies. Many of these immigrants worked in the numerous mills and factories of the era. Some immigrants from these countries were not welcome by some parts of the community at the time and faced verbal dis- crimination and physical abuse, but they ignored this and got on with their lives.
They had to endure difficult living and working conditions and would often work long and unsociable hours with some even working seven days a week to build a new life for themselves and resulting in rebuilding the post-war economy.
Despite the massive sacrifices they made with their lives in the 36
hope that their offspring had better opportunities, not to mention the contribution to the UK economy, these efforts did not gain any recognition from Her Majesty or her government.
In the 1970s and ‘80s the manufacturing boom in the mills and fac- tories was coming to an end, largely due to the prevailing government’s economic policies. These policies also affected the coal, ship, steel and railway industries. With manufacturing being relocated to countries in the developing world, many businesses in Britain were closed down and unemployment surged.
Unemployment among low skilled workers from inner-city minor- ity communities was rising at one of the fastest rates. Language was another hurdle facing this socio-economic group. Many did not have the skills to enter other industries. They were feeling the crunch.
The lack of emphasis on education from the first-generation immigrants meant second generation immigrants had limited choices with regard to jobs and struggled to access mainstream jobs and faced a bleak economic future. However, some would eventually set up their own businesses such as corner shops, mar- ket stalls and takeaways to name a few. With limited options many would enter the taxi trade.
Up until the 1980s there were very few taxi drivers from an ethnic minority background. The taxi industry was operated by profes- sionals and it was also a respectable profession which provided an honourable service. The customers had respect for the taxi drivers and held them in high regard as they were integral parts of the community.
The fares were also very good in those days. Overall, there were very few attacks on taxi drivers. There were instances where cus- tomers would run off and not pay but drivers often knew who their customers were. Drivers dealt with this by either refusing further service to unpaying customers or by turning up at the cus- tomer’s address for the fare as drivers knew many of their passengers personally.
THE TIDE OF CHANGE
Increasing numbers of drivers from ethnic minority backgrounds started to enter the taxi business in the 80s and 90s. They started operating a 24/7 taxi service including during the public holidays and festive periods, all the while keeping prices the same. Oper- ating a late-night service also meant drivers faced abuse. These
AUGUST 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
