Burnley taxi drivers 'support training plans'
Lancs Telegraph!
A COUNCIL leader has claimed taxi drivers are behind new compulsory training - despite a spate of protests against it.
From November 1, Burnley cabbies will be forced to take a test to prove they are up to the job, including opening doors for people and helping customers with shopping.
The scheme was rubber stamped by the council’s ruling Liberal Democrat executive earlier this month but was then ‘called in’ by opposition councillors.
But despite allowing the training to go ahead, they have said that lessons should be learned on how cabbies were consulted by council bosses.
However, defiant council leader Gordon Birtwistle said: “A lot of taxi drivers are happy with the training.
“They were given a lot of wrong information in the first place so we had a presentation for them but very few turned up because it was Ramadan at the time.
“I had a meeting with some drivers and they thought it was fine.
“It is a simple test that entails them taking two days at college and then they have someone riding with them in their taxi three times for an hour and a half.”
However, Coun Wajid Khan, who called in the original executive decision, has accused council chiefs of “cultural insensitivity” over the meeting during Ramadan.
And he has also complained to the council about the report, saying it failed to properly consult taxi drivers.
He added: “The call-in was down to a lack of consultation by the council and inconsistencies in the reports given to councillors.
“Out of more than 700 taxi drivers in Burnley, I am aware of only five or six who are not bothered by this proposal.”
From November 1, the borough’s cabbies will be given three years to complete the training or risk having their licences taken away.
Taxi leaders last month spoke at a full council meeting, saying the written test part of the training discriminates against drivers who speak English as a second language.
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