PROTEST PLIGHT
CARDIFF CABBIES STAGE PROTEST AGAINST PLANS TO ISSUE ‘TOO MANY LICENCES’
Unite Wales members working within the Cardiff Taxi trade have staged a protest at Cardiff County Hall.
The protest by several hundred cabbies is aimed at stopping what they say is the the increasing over- saturation of the Cardiff taxi trade. Alan McCarthy, Regional Officer, said that there were “too many licences issued for a city the size of Cardiff”. “This decreases earning oppor- tunities for existing drivers, with over-competition for fares,” he said. “PH licences are already uncapped, plus with unchallenged cross bordering from neighbouring authorities, the Cardiff market is completely oversaturated.”
coming years. How are drivers sup- posed to face the current cost-of-living crisis whist also saving to purchase an
Alan McCarthy said that they were protesting specifically against proposals to lift a cap on the issuing of new licences to those presenting electric or new Euro 6 compliant vehicles, which they said would be unaffordable to many current drivers. “Cardiff Council has already spoken about a desire to see the entire fleet upgraded to EVs in the
electric vehicle?” he said. “Issuing new licences to those financially capable of owning an EV simply forces the poorest drivers out of the trade. “Cardiff Council needs to stop and carry out a thorough Equality Impact Assessment to ensure that the poorest in our capital city are not being disproportionally hit by this disastrous proposal.”
LEEDS PH UNION THREATENED WITH LEGAL ACTION OVER UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR DURING PROTEST
Leaders of the Leeds Private Hire Drivers Organisation (LPHDO) have been threatened with legal action by the city council amid accusations of staff intimidation. Members have behaved aggres- sively and verbally abused officers at the local authority, according to a letter sent to the union from the council’s legal department. Drivers have even been told they could lose their licences if the alleged behaviour is deemed to have continued. Tensions between the city’s PH drivers and the council have escalated this year, with drivers protesting over changes to licensing rules. Those with nine penalty points for minor motoring
30
offences on their licence could now face bans, down from the previous threshold of 12 points. The council letter describes the behaviour of some reps during the dispute as “unacceptable”, accusing union officials of “aggression and shouting” towards council representatives and of “verbally abusing” an officer outside Civic Hall by filming him without permission and describing him as a liar”. It also claimed LPHDO placards calling for officers to be sacked “amounted to direct harassment” and that the union made defamatory claims in online videos. But Ahmad Hussain, chairman of LPHDO, said the union strongly
denied the claims saying the letter is evidence the union is being “intimidated” and “victimised’.He said: “This is a democratic society and we’ve a right to express our feelings. We’ve not been abusive to anyone. The police have been to our protests and they know they’re peaceful. We’ve not caused any grief or incitement. “Protests cause a bit of a nuisance and a bit of stress and alarm, but that’s what a protest is. We’ve not done anything wrong.” The council said the union would remain recognised and would be consulted over issues relating to local taxi policy. It said union reps would still be allowed to attend public meetings.
JANUARY 2023 PHTM
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
