Re Sussex:
I agree, this forum is more active in debate than whole trade, trouble is those who perceive to be 'in charge' of our industry don't tell the rest of us anything, whereas on here you get to know. At Unite the old mushroom syndrome is king, particularly during the ill-fated CBH campaign. I'll hold my hand up to that one! I'm a bit of an old type union man myself, probably my downfall, but I still think that workers in any sector must stick together. Look we all disagree on things and hooray to that, but there is a bigger picture here.
The very nature of self employment is divisive, dog eat dog, everyone competing. Yet, the taxi trade doesn't actually suit it very well. Think about. We rank up in turn, that is non competitive, radio work is given out in an orderly way(in most cases that is), again non competitive. The beauty of the concept of the taxi trade is its sole trader status. One man, one cab. The problem is each LA has different rules regarding ownership, type approval, control of numbers, etc. Without some semblance of uniformity, there will always be a fair amount of chaos.
The opportunity that we have all had during this consultation period is to have had our say and i'd like to think that everyone who contributes to this forum has submitted to the LC. Because on this forum alone there is much knowledge and experience of how things could be improved. Also the quality of how it is expressed would show the LC that cabbies are not just the 'waifs and strays of society', as the IOL once described them.
You can slag me off all you want folks, as since I relinquished my cab and plate, I've been involved in the NVQ training, still am, currently in Boston. But what I have found, is that the majority of cab drivers are lacking in key skills. Yes there are many ex-skilled workers driving cabs, but not too many are IT savvy.
After being ostracised for the second time at Unite 680 and a short break from the place, I attended a meeting at branch to find two rooms with 20+ computers in them. At the time Assessors could only use 3, the others set up for online knowledge tests. So much for NVQs being used to slow the entry into the industry. However, I thought, great there is the way forward for any future campaign or lobbying exercise. Deliver some free basic IT training to drivers, ie: set up an email, cut and paste, word, internet usage, etc and hey presto, e-petitions, submissions, letters, the lot could be organised en masse! It might even encourage some membership. But no. Knowledge testing??? They have the means right there to encourage drivers to make submissions to the LC but don't deliver, as usual. It seems like a real waste of resource to me, either that or it's a tax dodge. However, it does nothing to improve the quality of life for existing cabbies. Shameful.
This is where the training cash could and should have been invested, by improving the education of the workforce. I've met some great people during the training process, some of which have dyslexia or issues with numeracy and literacy. At the beginning they are embarrassed and ashamed, but once I've recognised it and spoken privately with them about it, a plan is made and we move forwards to find a solution to complete the training. This is because, for the first time someone has been bothered to actually address it and encourage them to overcome it. At the end of the training, in which they may have had 6-10 hours reading and writing, they normally thank me for my help, which to be honest, makes it worthwhile for me. The problem is there is no future opportunity offered to make further education available. Very sad indeed.
The point is that at all levels, the representatives within the taxi trade are only in it for themselves, they fail to see the bigger picture, that by having a better educated workforce, improved pay and conditions can be achieved. Instead the workforce is used for many different purposes, of which only a few improve the driver's lot. As long as this remains, nothing will change, but at least on this forum change can be discussed without prejudice.
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