By Shane Bentley
SYDNEY — Faruque Ahmed, president of the Taxi Drivers Section of the NSW Transport Workers Union (TWU) and a taxi driver for 14 years, is leading a campaign for an independent inquiry into the NSW taxi industry.
"The industry is very dangerous. Shifts are 12 to 18 hours long and usually at night. There is no comprehensive training or proper inspection system. Drivers are not guaranteed a minimum wage, or holiday or sick pay. So the work force is transient, with a turnover rate of 30%", Ahmed told Green Left Weekly.
The removal of the seniority system for new taxi plate allocation in the 1980s was a turning point, he said. Plates could now be owned without driving a taxi. The balance of power moved from single owner-operators to the largest shareholders in owner "cooperatives", the boards of directors.
In 1988, the Liberal government dismantled the representative Taxi Advisory Council. It was replaced by the Taxi Council, which Ahmed describes as a "self-appointed mouthpiece for a small elite group from the board of directors who use it as an industry spokesperson, government-adviser and for media relations".
The Taxi Council, an unregistered body, cannot legally represent anyone. Nevertheless, it represents elite interests in the industry and formulates regulations with the government. Taxi drivers' personal files from the Department of Transport were released to the council, infringing the privacy of 20,000 registered NSW drivers.
The Taxi Council's 1990 code of conduct makes it an offence for drivers to do or say anything "detrimental to the [taxi cooperative] network". It aims to further restrict drivers' freedom of speech with proposed rules that drivers not discuss politics, religion or football and always agree with the passenger.
Ahmed thinks that the Taxi Council wants to stop dissenting drivers from speaking out to passengers. Owners already have the right to dismiss drivers instantly.
In 1996, the Labor government and the Taxi Council raised the flag-fall fare from $2 to $3 to pay for new security measures. The amount drivers had to pay their cabs' owner rose by up to $40 as a result. When the flag-fall returned to $2, the "pay-in" stayed the same. Other costs, such as green slips and radio network fees, have doubled in the past four years.
According to Ahmed, the taxi industry raised up to $126 million from the fare increase, while the cost of the safety features (including satellite tracking, surveillance cameras and safety screens) was around $20 million.
The "safety" capsules installed in taxis were uncomfortable and provided little security. They trapped air in the front seat, distorted rear vision and could trap drivers if the driver's door was smashed in an accident.
Drivers feel frustrated by the failure of the TWU leaders to stand up for their remaining conditions. Ahmed feels that the TWU executive has been "compromised by the Taxi Council to such an extent that no fair-minded person would consider they are still acting in their members' interests".
In 1996, the Taxi Council demanded that their illegal over-charging of non-owner drivers be retrospectively declared lawful. The TWU leadership did not oppose this despite strong objections from the Taxi Drivers Section.
"The TWU simply urged that we support the Taxi Council's submission and claimed the union would 'oppose it later'. They never did", said Ahmed.
Labor MP and Staysafe Committee chairperson Paul Gibson met with Premier Bob Carr in September 1996 to discuss a taxi industry inquiry. Despite support from every other member of the committee, Gibson and Carr refused to hold an inquiry. Labor's transport minister, Carl Scully, never released the findings of an unfavourable inquiry into the taxi inspection scheme.
In 1998, the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal conducted a "Review of Taxis and Hire Car Industries" but did not invite taxi drivers and their organisations to make oral submissions despite requests to do so.
"We are calling on taxi drivers to vote for alternatives to the Labor and Liberal parties, such as the Democrats, Greens, the Democratic Socialists and independent candidates. This in no way means supporting the racist and anti-working class One Nation party", Ahmed told Green Left Weekly.
Hundreds of taxi drivers attended five rallies outside the NSW parliament in 1998, including two in September that numbered between 500 and 1000 drivers and their taxis.
[Shane Bentley is the Democratic Socialist candidate for the seat of Auburn in the March 27 NSW state election.]