Taxi Driver Online

Anyone else heard this? Rumour has it that a well known Private hire operator has brought 15 guys over from Croatia, provided them with accomodation and is putting them through the taxi school free of charge. He is going to provide them with vehicles and then take them on as employees, not self employed like all his other drivers are. Now, I thought that there could be problems getting them a private hire licence, don't you have to have held a UK licence for at least 12 months? And how are the council going to check that they have no criminal record?
Allegedly all the other drivers and staff have been threatened with the sack if they say anything about this, but there is obviously at least one person who has decided to speak out.

Steveo, you're from Plymouth, you heard anything?

More likely Slovakia.

Not a rumour but fact.

EC members, no problem.

Apparently Bosnians have crb's cleared quicker than brits.

He may think he is clever, but customers wont put up with a poor service, no matter how cheap the cars are.

Still if he wants to employ them, pay their tax, their nat ins, their holidays, their sick pay etc etc, then good luck to him.

_________________
IDFIMH

i heard about this today. dunno how it will work, as i've only heard rumours and no facts yet.

but like someone said they can legally work here, they can get through the Council driving and knoweldge test and then they can legally drive PH here. i guess thats the joys of being in the EU now.

Surely no worse than some citys i've been to where the drivers cant even speak english and dont have a clue where they are going. but is that what we want down here?

Treating them as employees could perhaps be a condition of allowing them into the country, but if they're from an EC member then this shouldn't be necessary.

But it's perhaps a bit like the New Deal subisidies given to some in the trade - the Govt pays half the wages as long as the drivers are treated as employees.

But after the subsidy is finished they they're more than likely put on commission like the other drivers.

The employee status could well be a sweetener to get them to come to the UK, but when they're settled they'll be treated like everyone else.

But it's nonsense like this that destroys the taxi trade in many locations like throughout the world - the job is made easy to get into and is regarded as 'entry-level' and ideal for immigrants. Since immigrants will work for less than the indigenous population more are attracted to it and wages are driven down to a level that only immigrants will work for. Thus the job becomes attractive only to immigrants and and the sector is turned into a kind of employment ghetto.

The New York taxi trade and the London minicab trade are good examples of this.

Coming back to Plymouth, wasn't this the kind of thing that Linda Gilroy MP was highlighting in the Commons? Perhaps someone should contact her and ask her to make an issue of it. But perhaps it will be a different story if the akward issue of immigration is involved.

TDO to use your terminology, immigrants, often come into the trade bringing large amounts of money to buy plates from current holders. They work hard and ensure that the cars are working long hours usually with them driving, providing a good service.

There are many that could teach us a thing or two, maybe the fact that they are willing to work hard to earn a good living puts us to shame.

I do understand that there is good and bad in both all our drivers but I am suprised at TDO for tarring all with the same brush.

Time to stop moaning, knuckle down and get on with the job or hand your plate back and let someone have it who will.

Why hand my plate back?

Anyone can have one here, so I'm hardly preventing anyone else from having a go.

I don't disagree with much of what you say, which is why I think you're reading something into my post which isn't there, and the post was certainly not tarring all drivers with the same brush.

Immigration tends to drive down wages for the indigenous population (particularly towards the unskilled end of the labour market) which is one argument against it.

There is to much low-paid, casual McJobs-type employment in the UK without making the situation worse.

Of course, it benefits some. For example, middle class families in London who can effectively afford to hire someone tantamount to a slave, invariably an immigrant.

You seem to take a not dissimilar view in that you see immigrants as a good sales outlet for plates.

Me, I just drive my taxi, so I can't see how encouraging immigration will help me, or thousands of those in the trade who do likewise.

But, of course, others like the firm in Plymouth obviously have a different perspective.

Oh the fun he'll have paying sick pay and holiday pay and income tax for these guys.

he wont! when that time comes it will be time to go back,

or go cockle picking.

And dont speak english
and rip people off
and pretend to not understand when things go wrong
and disapper at midnight never to be seen again
best of luck mate....

Here it is in Black and White:

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133188&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133171&contentPK=11018267

DRIVERS TO CZECH IN WITH FIRM

MARTIN FREEMAN

12:00 - 27 September 2004
A plymouth taxi company is believed to be the first in the UK to recruit drivers from the Czech Republic. Eight men and one woman are in the final stages of training in Plymouth by private hire firm Taxifast, the city's biggest operator.

They will have to pass the company's own tests and be approved by the city council before they can operate in Plymouth.

Taxifast chairman John Preece said he expected seven to make the grade and be taken on.

He said he looked to the Czech Republic because he was unable to find enough suitable drivers in the UK for the expanding company.

"We need 60 new drivers a year because of our growth," he said. "It is difficult to find people in Britain, partly because so many have criminal records."

Mr Preece, another senior manager and the company's head of training flew to the Czech capital, Prague, to interview and assess possible recruits with the help of an agency there.

"We were so impressed with these people, by their qualities including their keenness, that we decided to bring them over and give it a try.

"The UK Government advised us that provided they had held a European driving licence for at least 12 months that counted as having a British licence for the same time."

All nine recruits had undergone criminal record checks in their homeland, which were overseen by a public official in Prague, a procedure accepted by Plymouth City Council, said Mr Preece.

He said the nine were in 'extended training' with Taxifast including knowledge of city streets, customer care and first aid.

One of the nine previously worked in the UK as a limousine driver but none of the others had worked in private hire.

"They come from a range of backgrounds. All speak English and are well-educated people, many of them graduates, who are looking for an opportunity in life. There aren't the jobs in the Czech Republic that there are here.

"They have to go through the city council's own tests the same way as any (British) driver would."

The Czechs would be with Taxifast on the same self-employed terms as the company's 327 existing drivers, said Mr Preece.

"This is good for Plymouth," he added. "It shows that people want to come and work here.

"Even if we took on another 50 Czechs we would still have jobs going in Plymouth because we need so many drivers."

A city council spokeswoman said that all private hire drivers went through the same stringent checks, no matter where they came from. "All drivers are subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check (or the equivalent) and have to pass a special driving test and the 'knowledge' test. We also check the validity of every applicant's driving licence. If an applicant is not from this country, they must provide an official statement from their Embassy, confirming their suitability as a public hire driver."

Now wouldn't it be funny if when the Czechs got their licenses they went their own ways.

Or maybe bought a plate.

All taxifast fast driver who have gone through the school sign a contract agreeing that if they leave the company and start working for another PH company within the first 12 months, then they pay the school costs.

the fee used to be £500 for the course. now its free as long as you keep working for taxifast for a year.

you dont pay the fee if you leave the taxi trade altogether. seems fair to me. if Taxifast are willing to invest time, money and effort in getting you trained to a good standard and on the road then its only right that they get to see some of that investment back in the way of office rent over time.


I'm sure a lot will be said about these new drivers some good, some bad some true some not. but what ever is said they are here and they will be working. obviously they are being trained to pass the council exam and to learn some local places. and i'm sure many will say its a bad thing to have them working here, but really its no different to someone from a different town or city in the UK coming to work here. and we have plenty of 'non-locals' driving on the streets of plymouth.

as for the fact that they come from a different country, well that does not matter any more you can thank the EU and mr. B-liar for opening the UK to all comers from the EU last May for that one.

Does this mean that Scotchmen from Scotland,can now train in England.
Think me and the clan will go down to Sussex for a visit,see if Sussex
can give us some shifts.

Loadsamoney Jock

Do you think Mr Preece flew easyjet?