NATIONAL CAR PARKS (NCP) HAVE SENT AGGRESSIVE LETTERS TO AROUND 50 TAXI DRIVERS IN CARDIFF, SAYING THEY MUST PAY TO RENEW THEIR STATION PERMIT OR HAVE IT REVOKED.
MANY TAXI DRIVERS ARE NOW LIVING IN POVERTY SINCE CORONAVIRUS HIT, WITH SOME HAVING TO USE FOOD BANKS AND UNABLE TO PAY UTILITY BILLS.
NOW UNITE THE UNION IS TELLING ITS MEMBERS NOT TO PAY THE INVOICE. YUSEF JAMA, BRANCH SECRETARY, TOLD US NCP ARE “ACTING LIKE BAILIFFS.”
By SC Cook & MS Redfern.
Taxi drivers in Cardiff are refusing to pay a £550 invoice to the multi million pound parking firm NCP, citing the fact that cabbies have been thrown out of work and into poverty since the Covid-19 crisis hit.
NCP – estimated to be worth around £202.703 million – has sent aggressive letters (pictured, main) to around 50 drivers demanding payment and threatening to take away their work permit if they fail to transfer the money.
Now the Cardiff Hackney Alliance – the Unite union branch representing around 200 drivers – has called the letters “a disgrace” and told it’s members not to pay the invoice which they liken to bailiff notices. Instead they are demanding there should be no payment to NCP for any of the shutdown period and discussions on a new permit should only start when restrictions are fully eased.
Drivers who pick up customers from the central train station in Cardiff have to pay the bill every year in order to obtain a permit. But since the official shutdown began, the majority of cabbies have been out of work and will have to wait until June before receiving any help from the government.
Yusef Jama, the Unite branch secretary for taxi drivers, told us that his trade has dropped by around 96%, with the only work being for the transport of emergency service and key workers.
“How are drivers supposed to live until June with no income?” he told us. “They’re not working. How are they supposed to manage to support their families, to pay their gas and electric bills? There’s so many outgoings let alone NCP demanding £547.”
He said he wasn’t sure if it was a “cross wire of communication” or whether NCP were “trying to take advantage of the situation and fleece drivers for money they don’t have.”
He added that his members were already under a huge amount of mental stress at the moment.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “You’ve got to worry about kids, you’ve got to worry about mental stress, you’ve got to worry about financial stress and now you’ve got [letters] coming through your door like bailiffs asking you for money. It’s disgraceful from a big company like NCP.”
Yusef said the issue was causing real anxiety among cabbies who are worried that if they don’t pay, they will have their permit revoked and be unable to work in the future.
“Taxi drivers shouldn’t have to think this way,” he told us. “We’re all working together in this pandemic, we’re all trying to help each other to get through this pandemic and now you’ve got NCP acting like bailiffs, asking for money they should never be asking for.”
In 2016, NCP made an operating profit of £10.274 million and saw a turnover of £202.703 million. Last year, NCP founder and multi millionaire Sir Donald Gosling died aged 90. Famed for owning a yacht that cost £440,000 a week to rent out, his funeral was attended by several senior Royals.
Transport for Wales (TFW) owns the land at Cardiff central station, but allows NCP to manage the parking contract and charge cabbies. In other cities such as Liverpool, taxi drivers are not charged for picking up from the station. Transport for Wales told the union they were negotiating with NCP over the bill but discussions appear to have stalled, as drivers have now received aggressive reminder letters demanding they pay immediately. Now TFW have said the issue lies with Welsh Government to resolve.
In a video posted on the Unite Wales Twitter feed yesterday, Stephen Mears – a union member and Cardiff taxi driver of 32 years – explained how he had been self isolating because his wife has liver failure and he hadn’t been paid for the last 4 weeks. “I can’t pay my bills and NCP expects me to pay £550 for a station permit I can’t afford.” he said.
Yusef says that members are contacting him with stories of dire poverty
“Drivers are basically saying to me, ‘I’ve got no money to pay for my bills, I’ve got no money to support my family, I have had to go to foodbanks at this moment in time.”
He says drivers want to know if the government are going to intervene and get the invoices withdrawn.
“They want [our] help on this,” he said. “And we [Unite] back them 100%. We will not let NCP bully any one of our members who are already in financial difficulty.”
Yesterday the secretary of the Wales TUC Shavanah Taj called on Welsh Government and Economy Minister Ken Skate to take action to support taxi drivers. “Workers don’t need added pressure, when earnings have been decimated & household bills continue to fly through doors.” she tweeted.
Taxi Drivers are not calling for an end to the shutdown but help and support from the government. Yusef explains that many cabbies have underlying health conditions and simply cannot take the risk of working. On top of this, many are acutely aware of the disproportionate effect the virus is having on people from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background.
“The majority of taxi drivers are from a BAME background and some of them have got diabetes,” Yusef told us. “ A lot of people from the BAME community are dying from this and they’re not sure why. A lot of drivers will not take that risk. They’re concerned about what they see on the news. It is scary.”
The situation has also exposed how the economic impact of the Covid 19 crisis is affecting people of colour especially hard.
“[It’s] hitting the BAME community.” he said. “A lot of drivers do not come from a wealthy background, they’re looking after their family to the best of their ability, working as hard as they can to pay their bills and look after their kids…This pandemic has had a massive impact on their lives.”
Yusef says that the situation facing cabbies is so desperate that some are working despite the huge risk it carries. Transport workers are particularly vulnerable to contracting Coronavirus, with at least 14 Tube workers and 20 London bus drivers dying from Covid-19.
Yusef Jama told us that “a small percentage” were taking the risk of working. “Even though there’s no money there. They’re just on the ranks hoping to get a fare every 2 hours, you know.”
He told us that when he had to visit the hospital recently he spoke to 3 cabbies who were waiting in their cars outside. “I said, ‘what you doing out?’ And they said, ‘well there’s no income, so how are we supposed to be home.’”
In this scenario facing drivers, Yusef says that it is unacceptable for NCP to be demanding over £500 from them:
“It is a disgrace. For NCP to be taking money from people when we’ve got families losing loved ones…is disgusting. We’ve got the NHS taking high risks helping people and we’re all trying to support them in this moment in time, what they’re doing for us. And then you’ve got NCP coming in the background saying we want money. They’re priorities aren’t right.”
