PROTEST PLIGHT
LEEDS CABBIES STRIKE ON A SATURDAY NIGHT TO PROTEST THE SUITABILITY AND CONVICTIONS POLICY
Leeds taxi and private hire drivers went on strike on the night of Saturday 29 January, to protest the Suitability and Convictions Policy, which the council put in place in February 2020. They stopped taking rides between 10pm and 6am to do a slow drive protest from Burley Road to Leeds city centre and back again. Meanwhile Uber prices skyrocketed as the company implemented surge pricing across the city. Ahmad Hussain, chairmain of Leeds Private Hire Drivers Organisation (LPHDO), apologised to passengers for strike disruption but said he and his colleagues had ‘no choice’ but to take action.
He said: “It went very well. About 250 cars did a slow drive from the car park on Burley Road into town. We stayed there for a bit and then did a slow drive back. “Mostly we didn’t have trouble with the public and some of them were even dancing with us in the road. Leeds City Council had asked drivers taking part in the strike to reconsider, and some had complained the strike would leave people stranded in Leeds unable to get home. Ahmad said: “We apologise to the people who couldn’t get home. We never wanted to do this protest. “We’re peaceful and hardworking people and we do not want to cause inconvenience to anybody. But what can we do? If we don’t protest this we could lose our futures, our livelihoods? Then how will people get home? “This is our last resort. We have the right to withdraw our labour. All we’re asking is to work and be treated fairly and respectfully as we do it.” Ahmad said taxi drivers would strike again if nothing changes. He added that drivers had been upset when they received some attacks last night for not picking people up. He also thanked the police for keeping the
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protest moving and looking after the public. David Lawrie director of NPHTA told PHTM: “We fully support the strike action by our affiliate members, LPHDO, in Leeds last night. Great to see the majority of the trade standing together.” This is the third protest staged by Leeds taxi and private hire drivers in the space of a month. On Wednesday 12 January, they staged a protest out- side the Town Hall in Leeds and on Monday 17 January, they held a 24-hour strike, from 6am to 6am on Tuesday 18 January, over the Suitability and Convictions Policy which they claim is too strict, and which the drivers say could cost them their livelihoods for relatively minor misdemeanours. LPHDO Vice Chairman, Zahid, said they will keep organising different types of protest until the policy is repealed. Ahmad Hussain added: “If I had a little argument with family or heated con- versation and the next-door neighbour called the police, and I’m not charged just given a caution, the council can take my badge off me. We’re trying to highlight the problem with the policy.” Drivers are also unhappy that they could lose their licence with as few as seven points on their driving licence,
for minor traffic offences. The council’s Licensing Committee has recommended that the public should be consulted on the follow- ing new standards: • Applications for a taxi or PH driver licence be refused when an applicant has seven or more points for minor convictions on their driving licence
• Existing licence holders reaching seven or eight points for minor con- victions will receive a warning and may be required to attend training
• Existing licence holders reaching nine or more points for minor con- victions may have their licence refused or revoked.
Currently, taxi or private hire licences can be granted to drivers with fewer than 12 points on their driving licence. However, Leeds City Council said the rules were in the interest of public safety. In a policy statement, the council said: “The standards of safety and suitability are not set as a base minimum. They are set high to give the public the assurance it requires when using taxi services. “The council does not have to strike an even balance between the driver’s right to work and the public’s right to protection. The public are entitled to be protected. This means that the council is entitled and bound to treat the safety of the public as the paramount consid- eration.”
Zahid, who has worked for Amber Cars and has been a cabbie for 24 years, said: “Within the 50-page document, there is nothing in there to safeguard the driver. The driver is in the biggest danger from intoxicated people, who in this day and age are now sniffing coke and whatever they do. “We are in the front line of danger.”
FEBRUARY 2022
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