IN THE NEWS
NOTTINGHAM PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS WIN RIGHT TO WORK MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Private hire drivers in Nottingham will now be allowed to work simultane- ously for multiple platforms, such as local companies alongside app- based firms. This announce- ment was made on 13 February, follow- ing the change of licensing condi- tions as a result of a campaign by local private hire drivers which won support from local MPs and subse- quently Notting- ham City Council. The change follows a grassroots cam- paign by members of the Nottingham branch of the Unit- ed Private Hire Drivers (UPHD) branch of the Inde- pendent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union. The restriction bar- ring private hire drivers from work- ing on multiple platforms was one of the first issues raised by members of the Nottingham UPHD branch after its founding in November 2017. When the branch discovered that there was no basis for these restric- tions in govern- ment legislation, and that in other major cities it is common for pri- vate hire drivers to work simultane- ously for multiple
24 Nadia Whittome
platforms, a cam- paign for reform was launched in Nottingham. The campaign soon garnered support from local Labour MPs includ- ing Nadia Whit- tome, MP for Not- tingham East; North Nottingham MP Alex Norris; and Lillian Green- wood, MP for South Nottingham. This was in accor- dance with the party’s manifesto commitment to support precarious and gig economy workers. Proposals devel- oped by Notting- ham UPHD were revised in dialogue with Nottingham City Council, and in December 2019 the Licensing Com- mittee voted unan- imously in favour of the change. However, it was temporarily de- layed by a legal challenge from Nottingham’s lar- gest private hire operator DG Cars;
that challenge was withdrawn in Jan- uary. Nottingham pri- vate hire operators will still be required to obtain and hold a current driver and vehicle licence for each driver on their circuit, but drivers will no longer be prohibit- ed from working for more than one provider at the same time, giving these drivers more control over their income and the structure of their working lives.
PHTM spoke at length with Azeem Hanif, chair of the UPHD Nottingham branch, who gave us a bit of back- ground to the campaign. He told us: “I started as a private hire driver in Nottingham in 1995. Back then it was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that PHV drivers could only work on one circuit. However, the pattern – which is hardly unusual – devel- oped that some local operators
Nottingham City Council members and members of UPHD – Azeem Hanif is second on the right
were dishing out work dispropor- tionately.
TIME TO BREAK THE MOULD
“I did a lot of research into how other councils gov- erned the trade, and how to raise the income of our drivers here. Noth- ing changed for a long time, but with new technology and a new market- place in the city, we decided to try to instigate this move- ment towards driv- ing for multiple firms.
“Initially the licens-
ing department weren’t keen; how- ever we made a presentation to the council, and includ- ed ways to manage the process into the report to Com- mittee. The whole development has taken over a year to accomplish, but it’s been worth the wait. “This is great news, not just for Not- tingham city’s 2,500 private hire drivers but for cus- tomer safety. “Under the old sys- tem, drivers were being forced to work longer hours for less pay, just to make ends meet. Shorter shifts and more control for drivers means safer journeys for cus- tomers. “Cllr Toby Neal has worked hard along- side MPs and UPHD members to put public safety
and drivers’ rights at the heart of this process. The result for Nottingham will be safer streets and fairer conditions for private hire drivers, so we couldn’t be happier.” Azeem made the point that the cooperation bet- ween the trade and the council, and in particular the back- ing of the MPs, made the change possible. Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, said: “Many congratulations to the private hire drivers in UPHD Nottingham on their victory for workers’ rights. I’m delighted that our Labour city council has enabled drivers to take control of their hours and earnings by allow- ing them to work for multiple opera- tors.”
MARCH 2020
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