Taxi strike

I just looked at Roys Taxi blog and saw the worst news ever as far as the taxi industry is concerned.
Taxi strike to go forward on St.Patricks day.
This is one of the best days for taxis if not the very best day.

Our elected leaders have taken themselves off to Wasihinton and every other corner of the world to premote Ireland, while at home everything is going down the tubes.

Looks like we’ll be Sriking on St. Patricks Day!

Roy March 11th, 2010

I gather from the latest press release from the Irish Taxi Council that Taxis will be on strike from St. Patrick’s Day on……

As the Cabinet are all away on Trade missions for the St. Patrick’s day festivals around the world, there will be no resolution before the 7 day notice and therefore we will be “All Out” (AS IF!) on St. Patrick’s day, the following Rugby international weekend…….and beyond that ……………………………..possibly forever!

A return to Strumpet City? Talk about Turkeys voting for Christmas!

Here’s a copy of the Press release:

The Irish Taxi Council notes the the regulators response (taxiregulator.ie) to the recent protest held at its offices at Fitzwilliam sq over the last 2 days. In relation to legal action taken by the regulator, this is the limited response we can give. The ITC have now been told that no member of the organisation can be found within 30 yards of the regulators office, so anyone in Dublin taking a taxi to the vicinity of those offices better be sure that their driver is not an ITC member or supporter!

We wish to state clearly that the ITC will do its utmost, legally and morally, to vindicate any percieved wrongdoing by its four members concerned.

In the mean time the ITC has advised the Minister of Transport of the mandate recieved today from representatives nationwide and full time taxi drivers in Ireland, at a mass meeting in Swords Co Dublin to state the following demand:

That full time taxi drivers of Ireland demand that the 11 point plan of the Oireachtas joint transport committee, a duly elected body of the citizens of Ireland, be implemented in full within the next seven (7) days. Otherwise our mandate states we are to organise nationwide protest and disruption within the taxi industry for such a time until the demands of our members and all full time taxi drivers are met.

If the Minister does not wish to engage then the Taoiseasch should intervene and sort this mess out.

Spokesperson for the ITC, Frank Byrne, says “we would like to thank everyone who gave their support to the lads over the last few days. The public should be warned, this action will get far more serious very quickly if our issues are not addressed”.

To add insult to injury the boys who got the job of working on NAMA who were to start work on an agreed salery of €100,000 are now to get€170,000.

Not a bad pay rise from a country in trouble.