SLAVE WAGE CABBIE CON
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/04/09/slave-wage-cabbie-con-115875-21265221/
Immigrant cab drivers lured to the UK are being paid as little as £1 for 70 hours' work. Lancaster Private Hire entices Romanians to London promising earnings of £400 a week driving cabs for clients including the BBC.
But we've spoken to a dozen of its drivers who say they are getting paid £100 or less for six 12-hour days - and sometimes far less. The GMB union branded Lancaster "atrocious" and said it confirmed suspicions that foreign workers are being exploited.
One Romanian, who we'll call Joe, spotted an internet ad for drivers, and was told to expect "continuous work" after being hired. Predicted takings were £800 a week, according to emails shown to us. After expenses - including £80 vehicle hire, £65 insurance, £100 fuel, £60 accommodation and other costs - Joe's "projected income" was £400 a week.
For the first month while waiting for his licence, he was paid £60 a week to post Lancaster's cards through letter boxes - well below the minimum wage. Since starting driving, Joe has earned on average £60 a week. One week he got £1.
Joe says he came here to support his family. But he told us: "My wife's been supporting me. It's terrible. "They are telling lies to bring us here. Drivers often work seven days a week, dropping passengers at addresses like BBC TV Centre. Some escort vulnerable children for local authorities.
Pay slips we've seen show the average wage is less than £100 after deductions that appear arbitrary. Vehicle hire costs up to £120 a week, not the promised £80, and drivers pay rent of £70, not £60, a week to live in houses crammed with up to 16 people at a time.
Drivers have to pay up to £1,000 as a "bond" that some complain they don't get back. They can be docked £100 for parking fines - which includes Lancaster's £40 "admin" fee - without ever seeing the tickets.
And, on top of insurance costs, many are deducted extra for "damage". Lancaster said it would keep 10% from cash jobs. But it rose to 20% and drivers complain that what's left barely covers fuel costs.
GMB's Terry Flanagan said: "Lancaster is exploiting illegal labour. This is destroying the industry."
But Lancaster director Ernie Hill blamed the Romanians for their poor earnings. "We bring them over here and get them new cars," he said, "but many of them are very, very greedy. "If they are not earning good money, that's because they are lazy." The company insists some drivers earn £20k a year.
Hill accepted that drivers were paid £60 to deliver leaflets but said: "It's their choice." He also admitted 16 share a house but said: "It's a six-bedroom house."
When we wouldn't name drivers who complained, he said: "You haven't got the balls. There won't be any repercussions. We don't give a s**t about these people."
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