Gatwick taxi drivers protest over ‘concerns’ with Uber
Gatwick taxi drivers will stage a protest at the airport over ‘members’ concerns’ with Uber, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said.
The protest will take place at the Gatwick South Terminal roundabout at 8am on Thursday, October 9.
Unite said Uber’s growing encroachment into Crawley’s taxi sector was damaging livelihoods and undermining the local economy, which is heavily dependent on Gatwick.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Gatwick is disgracing itself by partnering with a race-to-the-bottom firm like Uber, which is destroying local livelihoods and damaging Crawley’s economy.
“Unite will not rest until Gatwick takes action to address our members’ concerns.
“Nor can the government continue to sit on the sidelines – Uber’s sidestepping of local licensing laws is hurting workers and putting passengers at risk across the country.
“Ministers need to close the loopholes in the legislation.”
The union is also demanding government implement the recommendations of the Casey Report to strengthen weak council taxi licensing laws.
In response, Uber said Crawley Borough Council conducted a thorough investigation into this matter, to which it sought independent, expert legal opinion and concluded that the company was not in breach of any licensing laws in Crawley.
Uber said the council’s report included advice from Philip Kolvin KC who said he could find ‘no wrongdoing’ in Uber drivers being sent to airport car parks to wait for their bookings, and the firm was ‘organising its vehicles in an orderly manner rather than allowing them to proliferate in local roads’.
An Uber spokesperson said: “Uber operates according to the high standards set across the industry and abides by the same regulations as all other private hire operators.
“This has been supported by a thorough independent review by Crawley Borough Council, which upheld our set-up at Gatwick.”