From Tuesday 27th April 2010.
Thousands of leaflets will be handed out to Licensed Taxi Drivers, at all the major rail station Taxi Ranks.
A personal message from RMT General Secretary Bob Crow, in answer to the months of lies published in the trade media led by LTDA Taxi Magazine.
Below is the content of this message to be given out today.
TtT
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The RMT position on London taxis.
Dear colleagues,
recent attacks on the RMT by the taxi trade press are unfounded. I can only put forward the points to you as self employed working cab drivers and finally put to rest any doubts you might have about our policy. I can state categorically that;
- The RMT has no intention of seeking to control hours of London Taxi drivers.
- The RMT has no policy to introduce tachographs into London Taxis.
- The RMT does not admit minicab drivers to membership of the union.
- The RMT has no official dialogue with the GMB Union in respect of taxi matters.
- The RMT does not support satellite offices.
- The RMT has no interest in matters concerning other trade organisation membership numbers.
Anything said in contradiction to the above is untrue.
The RMT will support the London taxi driver in securing the best legal assistance, through branch legal representation. it should be noted that the branch has recently successfully challenged two revocations of driver licenses through representation at Court and at the Public Carriage Office. The RMT has also successfully appealed on behalf of some members penalty Charge Notices and recovered monies after a member had been bilked for a large sum. This is what the RMT can do for you. Think about it!
Be Lucky
Bob Crow
General Secretary.
The RMT London Taxi Branch gives you the London Taxi-cab driver a Voice and a Vote, we have more members attending branch meetings than others can muster for an AGM. We welcome debate and always decide policy in a fair and respectful manner.
Our trade is under threat like never before with illegal ranks of mini-cabs standing outside TFL/PCO approved satellite mini-cab offices. Westminster City Council/TFL attempting to introduce legislation to appoint bays/ranks on the public highway for pedicabs/rickshaws. A complete failure of enforcement of a private hire trade growing out of control and we in the London Taxi trade get £10.00 knocked off the cost of a Taxi plate.
The London Taxi trade is in serious trouble and the RMT specialist transport union has the reach, influence and skill set to deal with the many serious issues affecting you and your trade
Our trade is under threat like never before with illegal ranks of mini-cabs standing outside TFL/PCO approved satellite mini-cab offices. Westminster City Council/TFL attempting to introduce legislation to appoint bays/ranks on the public highway for pedicabs/rickshaws. A complete failure of enforcement of a private hire trade growing out of control and we in the London Taxi trade get £10.00 knocked off the cost of a Taxi plate.
The London Taxi trade is in serious trouble and the RMT specialist transport union has the reach, influence and skill set to deal with the many serious issues affecting you and your trade
Editors comment;
As this site is independent, we will of course give Bob Oddy, Grant Davis and Tony Bond the right of reply.
Perhaps they would like to tell the trade just why they have been spreading lies about ordinary hard-working Taxi Drivers, who wish to have stronger representation.
Why do you not either:-
ReplyDelete1 - Get round a table and have a chat with the trade press and hopefully come to an amicable agreement once and for all on all this constant bickering
Or:-
2 - Sue them for deformation of character.
When the job is on its knees as present and moral is at an all time low this tit for tat is doing the taxi trade no good at all.
Fine words butter no parsnips!!
ReplyDeleteTheroman has said the RMT has better things to do with its members' money than to scuttle off to the High Court to nail what they call lies on RMT policy.
But what the roman is really saying is that the RMT will not throw money or national support to the rump that is the London Taxi Branch. ( if they offered it theroman would bite Bob Crows hand off in his haste to grab the dosh!!) And why should Bob Crow put full weight behind the London Taxi Branch. The RMT LTB have no union values ( they have said they would not come out in support of their rail ‘brothers’) they are using the union and compromising union values. The RMT LTB have nothing, politically or morally in common with the RMT proper.
So all this nonsense that by joining the RMT you will have the strength of national union behind you is nonsense. All you will have is about 80 (?) right wing types cursing and ranting at all and sundry whilst they eat their dry parsnips.
Fred Spoons
Fred.
ReplyDeleteI must point out again to you that the London Taxi branch can not take industrial action on behalf of the Rail workers. Likewise they can take no action on behalf of the Taxi branch. The law is very clear on this issue.
Fred what are you scared of? is it such a terrible thing that a group of drivers, your friends and colleagues who you work and socialise with, wish to join a union?
Fred first you accused these drivers of being communist lead and now you say they are right wing.
Wake up and look at the truth.
The LTDA, Unite and the Club had many years to unite and form a trade group but chose not to.
Our future was not looking very bright, so drivers formed a Taxi branch with the RMT, simply because it had no connection with private hire whatsoever and has Licensed Hackney carriage Taxi branches up and down the country.
The RMT has no agenda for the proliferation of private hire unlike the LTDA which, like it or not, has a 20% stake in a private hire company and leases property to a company that has connections with PH.
Unite the union supports PHV drivers in other areas around the country where drivers hold dual licenses PH and HC.
The RMT are not trying to gain membership from the UTG its fine that they say they have more members than this time last year. The more London Taxi drivers who join a trade body the better surely?
Our membership has come mainly from drivers who have sat on the fence for many years and now feel they would like a voice. They have looked at what the UTG have done individually, not being impressed they have opted to join a specialist Transport Union.
When a new representative org is set up it can take many years to establish, it took the club over 25 years to be accepted by the LTDA.
But what you get from the RMT is a union that is already up and running and has many important connections with civil servants MP's London Assembly members and government ministers. These links have been set up over many years.
The cab trade is in dire trouble and doesn't have many years to set up a completely new body. The RMT is Tailor made for London's Taxi drivers, The Best Taxi Service in the World.
TtT
You ain't seen nothing yet !
ReplyDeleteWell said TtT, spot on! ;)
ReplyDeleteUTG Member, Joey, Russell, or what ever you are calling yourself today.
ReplyDeletePut your propaganda on your own blog stop trying to infest mine with your lies.
Plus re read the article you refer to and stop misinterpreting it.
The drivers deserve better than what you have been giving them and now they are going to call for you heads. Bye Bye, back to driving for a living!
Jason Byrne.
This is concrete proof that the LTDA, LCDC and the other one (United Trade Farce) have been caught bang to rights lying and deceiving the trade.
ReplyDeleteIs this what you want from your leadership?
What else have they been lying to you about?
The RMT don't tell lies, we tell it like it is!
Dizzy.
the LTDA is a motley crew of ex-police officers,who have little or no empathy with the plight of the average working man,as none beleive in the work ethic of "a honest days work,for a honest days money"!
ReplyDeletebongobongo
The LTDA and the UTG are wrong to keep sniping at the RMT, but they will say they are just playing tit for tat. Look at previous postings on this topic, editorial staff says "unlike the LTDA which, like it or not, has a 20% stake in a private hire company and leases property to a company that has connections with PH"
ReplyDeleteAll of which is untrue! LTDA has a 20% stake in comcab, the company which owns the other 80% also owns minicab companies, comcab does not. Also LTDA (I know because I called and asked) does not lease any building to Comcab or a PH firm.
You tell lies about them or distort the truth they do the same to RMT, its madness and you are as much to blame as anyone!
Woodford Barry
Barry, Do you really think they are going to tell you their business over the phone?
ReplyDeleteGo down to 7 Woodfield road and see who is in the original Taxi house.
Then find out who owns the feehold of that building.
As for the 20% of a mini cab firm, perhaps it could have read better.
The LTDA own 20% of Com Cab who work hand in hand with their sister PH company.
No union or association that looks after the interest of Taxi drivers should be in bed with private hire, end of. Its a conflict of interest
Jason Byrne.
Barry
ReplyDeletedidn't see you commenting much in the last six months about the lies in the Taxi, Badge and CTN
is it only when we stick up for ourselves and prove their lying that pisses you off then?
TtT
Barry,
ReplyDeletesorry your mates are on the naughty step for telling porkies.
Go on Com Cabs Website or ring them up. Look at the accounts.
Let's not deflect that the LTDA have led on an outrageous untrue smear campaign to cover their inertia on vital trade matters!
They now need to be big and brave and say sorry to the trade for the lies.
More chance of Bob Oddy driving a cab I say!
I am confused, on the RMT website it says that drivers carrying passengers should have there hours regulated, yet here you say they shoud,nt, could somebody please explain..?
ReplyDeleteRead the whole article, it goes on to say that the taxi trade is a special case and NOTHING should be done without full consultation with the trade.
ReplyDeleteThe RMT are looking to protect people who whilst nominally self employed drivers but who get NO choice as to how long or when they work.
Sub contracted Truckers and various other people who should it reality be employees but are pressursed to hold self employed status in order to get around regulations.
Bob Crow's letter also makes it 100% clear that we as London Taxi drivers pick and choose when and for how long we work and the RMT supports this.
Facts not spin!
I see May's edition of 'CallSign' DAC's house magazine has condemned the LTDA campaign as a lot of lies.
ReplyDeleteThat's the trouble with truth, it always seems to get out.
The members of the LCDC and UNITE must be devastated how their 'leaders' have lied and lied over this matter, one wonders what the puppetmasters offered them?
One supposes LTDA members expect no different from the 'policemans rest' of W9.
Will heads roll?