Taxis Stage Wildcat Strike
4th September 2008
Hundreds of black-cab drivers joined at three hour wildcat strike this morning in protest against spiralling charges at Manchester Airport .
Around 400 drivers barricaded themselves into a feeder car park at 11am, refusing to pick up any passengers.
They say the airport has increased the amount they pay to access terminals from £270 a year to £1.60 per job, which works out at around £3,000 a year for an average driver.
The Hackney cab committee has approached Manchester council's licensing committee, which sets fares, to ask permission to pass the charges on to customers.
The committee has so far only allowed a 40p increase to be passed on to fares, although it is to reconsider the issue later this month.
The airport uses 60p of the £1.60 charge to pay for 16 taxi marshals who communicate between the terminals and the taxi headquarters in the feeder park about how many taxis are needed.
But the drivers say the marshals on shift often leave their posts unattended.
And, when that happened this morning, they decided on the impromptu strike.
Talat Raha, who's been driving a cab for 10 years, said: "This morning was the final straw.
"There have been problems with the marshals and how much the charges have increased, especially with recent increases in diesel and also our own household bills.
"It's a massive increase. We pay £1.60 per job, with the money taken off a card that allows us into the feeder park, but there has been no improvement in facilities here.
"We have a few cabins and monitors that hardly work.
"We are paying for a service we are not receiving. When the marshals are not there we are losing money and losing custom to private hire cabs.
"We wait about an hour and a half in the feeder park, so get through about seven or eight jobs a day. The drivers have had enough."
An airport spokesperson said: "Manchester Airport employs 16 taxi marshals across its three terminals to help passengers wishing to use taxis to travel to and from the airport.
"It is our understanding that a breakdown in communications earlier today between the Hackney carriage drivers and Manchester Airport's taxi marshals has led to a disruption to their service.
"This dispute does not affect the services provided by any other taxi companies including Airportcarz and passengers are still able to travel to and from the airport using other taxi firms during this time.
"We are currently working closely with representatives of the Hackney cab committee to better understand the issue and are confident it will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction in the very near future."
It is understood the drivers were meeting with union reps and the airport this afternoon to discuss the matter further.
Source; Manchester Evening News
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