Taxi Driver Online

Minicab drivers will go slow in Luton tomorrow morning in protest at “sweatshop conditions” working for Addison Lee

Minicab drivers will go slow in Luton tomorrow morning (Tuesday) in protest at “sweatshop conditions” working for Addison Lee.

The protest called by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain’s (IWGB) United Private Hire Drivers (UPHD) branch will take place on Tuesday, March 5, starting by Luton Airport Roundabout, followed by a go slow drive over to Luton Council on George Street, and then a demonstration outside the council office, it will go on from 8am till 10.30am.

The drivers are calling on Luton Council to use the licensing powers to enforce legal workers rights of drivers.

Minicab drivers decry “sweatshop conditions” at Addison Lee, with their take home pay having fallen below minimum wage.

Analysis by the UPHD shows that Addison Lee drivers working often 70 hours or more per week earn little more than £1000, but after £270 in vehicle rent and 35% commission taken by Addison Lee are deducted, along with other associated costs such as fuel, drivers take home only around £225 per week in pay.

Drivers will demonstrate outside Luton Council, calling for the council to use powers as licensing authority to enforce workers’ rights.

Sohail Choudhary, Chair of the Luton UPHD branch, said: “Drivers such as myself working for Addison Lee at Luton Airport have been reduced to working in sweatshop conditions and yet we can barely scrape by. “The Council is the ultimate owner of Luton airport, benefiting from a lucrative contract that gives Addison Lee exclusive rights to operate at the airport, while having a responsibility as a licensing authority to ensure drivers like myself are not mistreated.

“It is a disgrace how Addison Lee treat their workers, and it is vital that Luton Council use their licensing powers and intervene to ensure our worker rights are protected.” The protest follows on from a protest at Luton Airport on Monday, February 4, where drivers protested the pay and conditions working for Addison Lee.

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IDFIMH

Does Addision Lee employ these protesting drivers or are they so call self employed.

Pseudo self employed.

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IDFIMH

Addison Lee takes 35% commission? Really? Makes Uber seem quite generous.

£270 per week rental works out at £70k over five years

My motor is reasonable quality, purchased from new and is now about five years old. If I sold it today suspect the lifetime costs would be around £25k, and that includes servicing, repairs and insurance. £70k over five years is utterly brutal

(To be fair, no doubt AL drivers covering a lot more miles than me, and suspect would be paying a lot more in insurance whether renting or running their own motor.)



Good luck with that one

I think the drivers should go on strike and demand AL reduce this but I suspect AL paid a huge fee to luton to get the gig and are now reclaiming it through their drivers not the customers

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Shameful.

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IDFIMH

Addison Lee drivers didn’t care when they out bid the hacks that used to work the airport did they?

They deserve no sympathy

Doubt the *drivers* had much say in the matter, somehow

Wouldn't surprise me if many of the drivers then, are the drivers still.

Albeit in different cars.

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IDFIMH

Nope they’re mostly London plated private hire drivers, the hacks never complained when they ran the rank, ad lee outbid them and flooded the ranks

bit hard to tell these days the drop off/pick up zone has been moved so far from the terminal you'd need high powered binoculars to see how many taxis on the old drop/off which is the rank these days

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector