PROTEST PLIGHT
BEDFORD CABBIES PROTEST FAILING INSPECTIONS OVER PAINT SCUFFS, COSTING THEM IN LOST EARNINGS
Bedford cab drivers protested outside Bedford Borough Council offices on Friday September 17, after being “unfairly” failed on vehicle inspections for minor issues such as scuffs to paint- work on bumpers. A cab driver told BedfordshireLive that these minor repairs can cost hundreds of pounds to get their cars to a level the council is happy with. Bedfordshire cabbie - Murad Islam, 33 - said that he had been unable to work for two weeks - leaving him with lost income to take care of his family. Mr Islam was failed for the aim of his headlamp and “poor repairs and paint- work to the front and rear bumper” around five times according to council documents. However the “poor paint- work” on his front and rear bumpers is
almost completely unnoticeable, unless looking incredibly close. To the naked eye it does not look like anything more than a small scuff and when looking at the car from a distance the silver Toyota’s paint job looks in a good condition. He said he had a quote for £300 for the paintworks to his cab. He told BedfordshireLive: “For years the council has failed our cars for very small paintworks or minor nail-marks. It’s very frustrating for all the drivers. “There are unnoticeable stone chips and the cars get failed for this - this is unacceptable as a driver.” He added: “It’s very hard for drivers to spend £300 or £400 for tiny little scratch marks - we need to respray the whole bumper. It’s not fair for us drivers.” Mr Islam - who organised the protest -
said that he was not the only driver to face these issues. “We have so many other cars fail every day,” he said. “They’re so frustrated and they’re running around every garage to try to fix them and spending money which maybe they don’t earn a week - it’s unbearable for us to spend around £500 for tiny stone chips. “The council is putting us through difficulties - once it fails then we can’t earn and our families are suffering.” A Borough Council spokesperson said: “Bedford BCis committed to ensuring that our local taxi and private hire ser- vices are provided in a high standard of vehicles which are safe for public use. “If a vehicle fails for a minor issue that can be re-tested in 15 minutes, we do not charge for the vehicle to be retested.”
APP DRIVERS AND COURIERS UNION HOLD NATIONAL 24-HOUR STRIKE AGAINST UBER
Uber drivers across the UK staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday September 28 over claims of low pay and unfair dismissals. The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU), which organised walkouts in eight UK cities, urged customers not to use the app for 24 hours. The ADCU has accused Uber of cheat- ing drivers out of 40 per cent of their pay by not paying them for the waiting time between jobs. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that drivers on the platform were at work for as long as they were logged into the Uber app. The union also claims that Uber has unfairly “robo-fired” drivers via automated algorithms. Union News reports that on 16 Septem- ber, members of the union’s executive voted to take the action the day after private hire drivers staged a protest at the company’s Brighton offices over its
OCTOBER 2021
failure to abide by the Supreme Court ruling and pay drivers for all of their working time. They also objected to the “arbitrary and unfair” dismissal of drivers in Brighton and to demand it raise fares to £2 per mile and reduce its commission take from drivers from 25% to 15%. The union also highlighted the treat- ment of local Uber driver and ADCU member Islam Rushdi who was falsely accused of sexual assault by an Uber passenger on July 30, see the full story in CCTV Your Security on page 22. The union is now demanding that Uber compensate Mr. Rushdi for lost earn- ings for the period and apologise for the length of time he was suspended. ADCU general secretary James Farrar, said: “Uber’s treatment of Islam Rushdi and many other ADCU Brighton members over the years has been brutal and is unacceptable in the modern day.
“Drivers work long hours on low pay and are systematically denied basic rights by Uber such the right to earn the minimum wage and protection from unfair dismissal. “Uber is privileged to be allowed to operate in Brighton but in return Brighton & Hove City Council must protect licensed private hire drivers from exploitation and demand that Uber obey the law starting with full implementation of the Supreme Court ruling.” ADCU president Yaseen Aslam, added: “It is shameful that Uber continues to defy the highest court in the land to cheat 70,000 workers out of pay for 40 per cent of their true working time. “Uber’s offer to set up a cross app common pension scheme just proves that it must also be possible for these companies to apportion and pay driver waiting time between them.”
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