A VOICE AND A VOTE

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: april 2010 :: RMTnews 27 RMT London taxi branch members held a protest outside Westminster City Council on St Patrick’s Day to demand Martin Low, head of transportation for the council, to honour pledges of rest bays for the capitals taxi-cab drivers, a more relaxed regime of parking controls and better planning of the road network EG taxis need roads not kerbs to navigate. With parking a real issue in this central London borough taxi-cab drivers gathered under the banner and along with three RMT council of executive members Craig Johnson, Pete March and Owen Herbert made some noise outside the council offices. I would like to thank Dizzy, the chap who produces those posters/banners (we are still laughing now at the humour) with the help and facilities of Unity House and its staff. Also committee member Mick Tinnion’s organisational skills are impeccable but then again he was a former guardsman. Well done to Mike Fitzpatrick the chap with the bass drum, who really did top off a good humoured demonstration. So much so that Martin Low appeared from the building and held a robust but polite conversation with me and other members of the branch and agreed to meet with the union. He will be invited to attend a RMT London taxi branch meeting where you the membership set the agenda and not others who haven’t driven a taxi-cab in years. The union has come under sustained attack from a friendly society known has the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA). We are not here to go to war with fellow taxi-cab drivers but we are here to protect our collective right to ply for hire, to campaign to ban pedicabs from the streets and roads of the capital, to seek the ending of the greatest threat to our existence which is the satellite mini-cab office and it’s illegal ranks and touting that follows. RMT will stand up for your rights like no other trade union or friendly society. We aren’t afraid to protest and we are always prepared to talk to find solutions to the many issues that blight our trade. A day before the successful Westminister protest, John Mason Director of Taxi and Private Hire met with myself, David Vidgen branch secretary, Stan Marut and RMT political officer James Croy and John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington and RMT parliamentary group convenor. I have to say that John Mason is a man of his word and back in December he agreed to meet on a regular basis with the union and include us in all formal consultations that affect you the London taxi-cab driver. So I’ll ask the editor of TAXI newspaper to check his facts before he goes to print in future for it seems he’s made a rather silly mistake. But then again this is the same friendly society that states it wants to ban Pedicabs but is happy to let a bill progress through parliament that would give Pedicabs parking bays/ranks on the public highway. Following detailed discussions with John Mason, we questioned him about the retest fee that TFL/PCO will introduce this month. It turns out that the LTDA were informed of the plans in November 2009. Now if this is the case we must ask the question why is the LTDA asking for an urgent meeting with TFL/PCO regarding the retest fee when it knew of these plans back in November? Now on a much more positive note we can report to the wider trade that many issues were discussed with John Mason ranging from Pedicabs, M4 bus lane, Satellite mini-cab offices, Richmond station rank, illegal hackney carriage ranks, communications, misinformation, other trade groups/bodies and the relationship or not with RMT, the lack of any planned future for the taxi trade, reform of the PCO, bullying at Heathrow Airport and a hell of a lot more. I am pleased to say is that this trade has a director of Taxis and Private Hire that is open, honest and forthright with his views. Moreover, RMT will be right there at the front seeking views and opinions of its ever growing membership at the best attended branch meetings amongst any trade body here in the capital. Remember when you join RMT you get a voice and a vote but not an air freshener, welcome to democracy, welcome to RMT www.rmt.org.uk A VOICE AND A VOTE John Kennedy vice chair RMT London taxi branch reports on the activities of a growing part of the union TAXI!:From left to right John McDonnell MP for Hayes & Harlington, John Mason Director of Taxi/Private Hire, Stan Marut compliance officer, David Vidgen branch secretary.