Taxi drivers to end second strike tonight...

[dutchman]

Taxi drivers in Coventry will return to work tonight after an eight-day strike in a dispute with the city council over licensing.



Drivers walked out last Tuesday when officials refused to impose a temporary cap on the number of licences being issued – saying it would be illegal.

A day later, a number of cabbies staged a ‘go-slow’ on the city’s Ring Road, causing heavy traffic congestion during the evening rush hour.

However, they’ve voted to call off their action – regardless of the outcome of a council meeting today that’s been organised to try and find a solution to the dispute.

Imran Zaman, chairman of Coventry’s Taxi Association, told Mercia: “We’ve held the public long enough, we’ve held ourselves up long enough, and we need to bring the city back to normality.”

However, Mr Zaman said the drivers would be taking legal action against the council for refusing to implement a temporary cap on the number of licences being issues – despite officials saying their advisors have told them such a cap would be illegal.

He added: “There’s no point drivers staying at home annoying the public when the only people who can decide this are the courts.”

Councillor Lindsley Harvard, Cabinet Member for City Services said: “We believed the package of measured we put together was good for the people of Coventry, the economy and the taxi industry. However, the taxi association’s demand for a temporary cap has been a stumbling block.”

“Our legal advisors have told us that a temporary cap could leave the council open to legal challenge. This is advice we cannot ignore and a point we have been upfront about from the start.”

The drivers’ first walkout in January – which lasted five days – was prompted when two cabbies were fined by police for driving over pavements in the city centre.

However, a Mercia survey has found only 52% of people in Coventry felt ‘affected’ by the strikes, with a significant proportion making alternative travel arrangements.

Some 13% weren’t aware industrial action was taking place at all.