‘HONEY OR VINEGAR’ SHOULD TRADE REPRESENTATIVES TREAT
LICENSING AUTHORITIES AS FRIENDS OR AS FOES? However,
the
Article by Eddie Grice NPHTA Board Member for Scotland and General Secretary of the Scottish Private Hire Association
Shortly before the eve of the 2022 local authority elections in Scotland, the Scottish Private Hire Association wrote to all candidates standing for election to
Glasgow City Council in an open letter.
The candidates were asked to pledge their support for the private hire and taxi trades and were also asked to commit to working towards implementing some policy proposals that had been put forward by the SPHA. The document was dubbed ‘The SPHA’s Manifesto’ by one Conservative Party candidate; perhaps said tongue-in-cheek, however the term has since been affectionately adopted by the association. Positive responses from several candidates were received, including a lengthy reply to the open letter from the Labour Group Leader, the late Malcolm Cunning.
Shortly after the elections, the Licensing and Regulatory Committee at Glasgow City Council began delivering on the plans from the SPHA’s Manifesto. Starting with their agreement to allow private hire car operators the option to install safety screens in private hire cars for the purposes of general safety; followed by their agreement to allow an additional placing option for private hire licence plates, meaning that car owners no longer had to drill into their bumpers.
At present, the SPHA’s flagship policy seeking an increase on private hire car age limits is nearing the point of success with the Licensing Committee recently ordering an evidence-based review of the policy by requesting that the council’s executive prepare a report with a view to increasing the age limit. The council also delivered on a key demand from Unite the Union by agreeing to allow a fixed side-step on hackney
carriages rather than the previously mandated (and problematic) electric side-steps. 42
most important policy proposal from the SPHA’s Manifesto, was that the council maintain a policy of open door engagement with the trade. This has also been delivered upon.
Council staff in the licensing section have been fairly available to trade reps over the past year and the licensing councillors themselves have been keen to engage. Honourable mentions to Councillors Alex Wilson, Eunice Jassemi, Jim Kavanagh, Hanif Raja and Thomas Kerr, as well as a mention to Councillor Jill Brown who has worked with trade representatives on issues outside of licensing.
The remarkable thing to take note of isn’t just the achievements listed above. The remarkable thing to take note of is that these achievements occurred without the need for industrial action. No protests took place in the making of this movie. No convoys rolled. No blockades erected. No placards or flags waved. All of it was achieved through negotiation, conversation and consultation. These policy changes took place as a result of sitting round the table and working together; council and the trade.
It is often the case nowadays to see drivers spring into action when they feel disgruntled. We see them organise and mobilise into protest. While that strategy has seen some success, such successes are very limited.
Should trade reps view licensing authorities as friends or as foes? I would argue that organised trade groups should view councils and licensing authorities as their co-workers of sorts. Two sides to the same coin. Rather than protesting in the street, should not the first aim of organising be to negotiate the desired results?
An old adage springs to mind: “You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
JANUARY 2023 PHTM
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