A newly formed taxi driver group has threatened an ‘indefinite strike’ of their members from 5am tomorrow morning, because they ‘‘are at breaking point’’.
The Irish Taxi Council (ITC) said drivers were struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families.Frank Byrne, council president, said he knew of some people in the industry who had suffered very serious stress because of this financial pressure. The council, which is an umbrella group for 27 smaller taxi driver groups, has threatened an indefinite strike from 5am tomorrow if their concerns about the industry are not addressed.
ITC members staged three-hour work stoppages across the country last Thursday in a ‘go slow’ protest. Two ITC members also staged a sit-in the office of the taxi regulator Kathleen Doyle two weeks ago, demanding to meet transport minister Noel Dempsey. The two men have since been restrained from entering the building by a High Court order. Byrne said that the regulator had ‘‘failed the industry’’, and that the council wanted to see the implementation of 11 recommendations made by the Oireachtas Transport Committee.
‘‘We will not deal with the regulator, as she is responsible for the current crisis. Even the [Oireachtas] committee chairman acknowledged she had lost control of the industry. There are 12,000 taxis in Dublin, with rank spaces for just 700.We are willing to enter negotiations, but only if an independent mediator is appointed to oversee them," said Byrne.
Meanwhile, the Irish Taxi Federation (ITF), National Taxi Drivers’ Union (NTDU), and National Private Hire and Taxi Association are engaged in talks with the regulator over reforms to the industry. The ITF and NTDU represent about 10,000 of the 27,000 drivers in the industry. John Usher, president of the ITF, said that a moratorium on the issuing of new taxi licences for saloon cars, which begins on April 6, had been achieved through dialogue. ‘‘The other taxi bodies have not asked me for advice, but our method is not to protest outside when talks are ongoing inside," said Usher.
‘‘There are more meetings scheduled with the regulator for this month and through April, but these need to achieve practicalities. There are a number of issues, such as new vehicle suitability tests for taxis and a computerised skills test, that we don’t believe our members should be subjected to," he said.
http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/indef ... 48068.html
Login
Register
FAQ
