PROTEST PLIGHT
COVENTRY CABBIES WARN OF BIGGEST STRIKE YET
Coventry cabbies have threatened their biggest strike yet, which they say will bring the city to a grinding halt.
Members of the Coventry Taxi Associa- tion were so incensed following a meeting with Coventry City Council a month ago that they vowed to take drastic action. The Association’s latest threat was in response to councillors voting unanimously against their plea to cap the number of hackney car- riage licences issued and limit the number of taxi drivers in the city. Following the meeting, Alias Yousef, Coventry Taxi Association chair, said he was under pressure to fulfil Asso- ciation members’ wishes. He said 95 per cent of the 700-strong
membership voted in favour of a strike if the council failed to con- cede to their demands at a meeting last month.
A petition signed by 328 members in favour of a limit on hackney carriage licences was also sub- mitted to the council. Mr Yousef told the Coventry Telegraph: “Strike action is now imminent. This time it will be random, we will not give any warning. I can sympathise with members of the pub- lic, but they can blame the council for that.” During the meeting of the Licensing Commit- tee Cllr Altaf Adalat (Cons, Foleshill) pre- sented the taxi drivers’ case, urging councillors to consider the health and safety impact on drivers, who were
forced to stay at ranks for hours before they could pick up a fare. However, his fellow councillors were less sympathetic as they slated the Association for not presenting the facts and figures to support their case. Cllr Dave Chater (Lab, Binley and Willenhall), deputy chairman, said: “There’s not a scrap of evidence to show what they are experiencing in terms of decreased earnings. Last year this committee gave in reluctantly to increas- es in hackney carriage fares which hit the pockets of people in Coventry.” Cllr Ken Charley (Cons, Whoblerley), chairman, said: “We license taxis for the paying public, we are not here to guarantee earnings for drivers.”
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PRESTON CABBIES THREATEN STRIKE OVER PENALTY POINTS
A group of Preston cabbies is threatening strike action in a row over penalty points. Scores of the city’s hackney carriage driv- ers claim they are the victims of an “over zealous” approach from town hall enforcement officers. Drivers say they are being hit with five penalty points by offi- cers every time they are spotted parking up away from a recog- nised taxi rank.
Under the council’s penalty points scheme drivers are given points for different infringe- ments, including defects on their cabs. If a driver hits 20 points they are brought to the town hall for a hearing. But the drivers claim there are not enough ranks in the city to cater for them, mean-
ing some have to park elsewhere.
But council bosses say they have stepped up their enforcement because of complaints from the public.
Up to 50 drivers met on the car park at Preston North End’s Deepdale ground to decide what action they were going to take.
They also want a full- time night time enforcement officer because they claim some private hire vehi- cles are parking up and “cherry picking” customers outside nightclubs and take- aways.
Their concerns are now set to be fed back to council bosses. James Fraser, 45, one of the drivers who organised the meeting, told the Lancashire Evening Post: “I don’t
mind getting five points for, say, a bald tyre or some other defect, but we have got to park somewhere. What do they want us to do, just drive round? What about the carbon foot- print?
“There could be the possibility of strike action among the driv- ers if they don’t get what they are asking for.”
A spokesman for Pres- ton Council said: “We have received com- plaints about taxi drivers parking on double yellow lines and pavements when ranks are full. “As such, we have stepped up our enforcement efforts and would remind taxi drivers that if ranks are full, then they should move on to another available rank.”
200 ANGRY SOUTHEND DRIVERS THREATENING INDUSTRIAL ACTION
Taxi drivers in Southend will block all cab ranks for 24 hours as part of strike over council conditions. The furious cabbies want to cut the amount of licences issued by the council in a bid to safeguard their futures.
Almost 200 packed into Southend Rugby Club for the annual meeting of the Southend Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Associa- tion where members joined forces with hackney carriage and private hire drivers and voted to take on the council. Paul Sutton, chairman of the association told the Southend Evening Echo: “We’re going to ask drivers to stop at noon on a Saturday and just sit in the ranks, to start 24 hours of no service.” He said neighbouring taxi companies in Cas-
tle Point and Basildon had assured them they would not send any cars into the town during the protest. At the meeting the driv- ers voted unanimously to try to stop Southend Council increasing the number of new permits it grants each year - set to rise from 14 to 16 in 2010.
They also voted to try to get the council to consult taxi drivers on any policy that will affect their trade. Secretary of the taxi drivers’ association, Dave Clift, said: “If push comes to shove we will take industrial action. We must stick together.” To cheers from mem- bers, Mr Clift also announced that if the issues are not resolved by January 1 the taxi drivers are going to start their own political party and run for elec- tion in Southend.
He said: “We have already got people pre- pared to stand in every ward. We’re annoyed at politicians destroy- ing Southend. I’ve earned my living in Southend, I’ve spent my money in Southend and now it’s not a very nice place to live.” Southend West Tory MP David Amess also attended the meeting and said: “At the moment there are only 69 taxi rank spaces in major ranks in Southend town centre. “This makes it difficult to make a living as well as damaging the envi- ronment by leaving them driving around trying to find a space.” Leader of Southend Council, Nigel Hold- croft, said the council has already commis- sioned a survey to review the current cover for taxis and that should be coming to cabinet in the autumn.
PHTM OCTOBER 2009
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