Taxi drivers stage 24-hour strike

Drivers at Tameside Taxis created their own picket line outside the firm’s Old Street premises in Ashton as they staged a 24-hour strike last Friday.

The drivers said they were taking the action, claiming the company had ‘forced through unfair working conditions’ without any consultation or notice.

The drivers claimed the firm had increased commission taken from drivers to an ‘unacceptable and unreasonable’ level. 

They stated that many of them had been left struggling to make ends meet and the company was ‘turning a blind eye’ to their problems amidst the cost of living crisis.

One worker said: “Despite our best efforts to work with the company owners to resolve our concerns amicably, promises have been broken, drivers have even been suspended and we now feel our only option is to strike.”

Another driver said they had worked with the company for more than 20 years but had recently been sacked. He added: “They’ve blocked me on the PDA system and I can’t do any further work. 

"What’s happened is that in Tameside, when I first started there were loads of taxi firms. If you got removed from one, you could go to another.

“Now it has been allowed for one or two people to buy out every other firm and we’re being sacked, one by one.

“As a company, they have to make a living too, so we don't mind increasing the radio rent but to an amount which is acceptable for us both, that’s all we’re asking for.

“We’ve tried to come to a peaceful resolution, we’ve tried to be reasonable, we’re not asking for the world.”

The strike action lasted from 6am last Friday to 6am the following day.

The drivers stated the following issues need to be resolved between the driver representatives and Tameside Taxis:

• Health and Safety (with regard to abusive passengers and drop off locations)
• Constant changes without any consultation with the drivers
• Set fare
• Night Tariff.

The drivers also acknowledged some improvements had been made in other areas in collaboration with the firm and they wanted to work with the ownership.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Tameside Taxis has, and still does, provide the cheapest prices for drivers to work in all of Greater Manchester.

“Some drivers were suspended for behaviour that fell below the company’s high standards.

“Drivers are always free to decide whether to work or not as they are self-employed.”

The company also described a figure for increased commission widely circulated online as ‘completely untrue’ and stated it was seeking legal advice.