UCG WITHDRAW FROM TfL ENGAGEMENT POLICY
Dear Friends,
Your committee has unanimously taken the decision for the UCG to withdraw from the engagement policy with Tfl.
This decision was not taken lightly and it will have no impact with the representation individual members receive.
Our organisation will not be complicit in the systematic destruction of our trade.
Our organisation is made.up of members who are fighters who are honourable and are not afraid of doing the right thing.
Our trade is fighting for its very existence the UCG was formed to fight for our trade to put the interests of the trade first second and always.
The UCG is unique within the trade because we don’t seek popularity we do what is right not what is popular. I hope you agree with your committee and continue to back it.
The full text of our letter to TfL is reproduced below.
Best wishes
Trevor Merralls
General Secretary on behalf of the UCG Committee
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Dear Mr Robinson,
The UCG has been part of the so-called ‘Engagement Policy’ and party to Trade / TfL meetings since January 2017; we have attended every meeting since then.
We have now concluded that further engagement with TfL is not only completely pointless but also not in the best interests of our members.
We entered the EP with an open mind and determination to give TfL a fair hearing in the hope that you would listen to our input and act accordingly where appropriate.
Naturally, we could never agree on every subject, but you have made absolutely no attempt to resolve important issues; Illegal PH Plying for Hire via apps, High Court definition of P4H and Uber driving a coach and horses through the regs being just three examples.
TfL has said to the UCG on two occasions ‘We have heard your opinion if you don’t like it take us to court’.
This arrogant attitude is not only unacceptable but is beneath contempt for a Regulator.
At all meetings when awkward but cogent questions are asked, TfL either avoid answering or defer the answer to a later date; that date never appears.
We have asked for Minuted Meetings since Jan 2017, but that request is constantly refused, and we are expected to rely on your selective ‘meeting notes’.
We feel that the outcome of all TfL meetings is a fait accompli with a pre-determined outcome and have no faith in TfL’s lacklustre approach to interacting with the trade organisations/unions.
We note that the Commissioner met once again with Mr Khosrowshahi from UBER this time on Monday 22/10/18 and yet the London Taxi Trade struggle to get a meeting with the commissioner and when we do it feels he is there out of sufferance.
Our history goes back to 1654 and for TfL to treat the trade with such contempt is nothing short of scandalous, TfL inherited the World’s finest Taxi service, you didn’t create it.
The question we are asking ourselves is 'are we "failing to engage" or "engaging to fail".
The UGC is no longer prepared to be complicit with TfL in their attempt to destroy our honourable and unique trade.
Therefore, we will not attend any further meetings with TfL, be they TOPS, Senior Reps or Commissioner meetings.
The GLA report found you to be ‘Woefully Inadequate’ and theUCG must concur with their opinion.
Best regards
Trevor Merralls.
UCG General Secretary
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : EDITORIAL COMMENT.
At last our orgs are waking up to the fact that TfL believe themselves to be superior in every way to our trade and not listening to anything we have to say. Just looking at their recent accounts shows they haven't got a clue, and as a result are haemorrhaging money at an alarming rate. Their crazy traffic schemes have virtually bought this wonderful city to gridlock in a bid to get people onto a new tube line that is massively over schedule and massively over budget.
Today's announcement is a bold move by the UCG and should be followed 100% by the other trade representative groups.
While many believed that you can do more from inside the tent looking out than outside the tent looking in, in reality what happened last January (in my opinion) was no more than an invitation to come into the tent to be pissed on.
Just look at when members tried to change the LTDA from the inside. As soon as rank and file drivers stood up and asked awkward questions.....they were expelled en masse. Representation....not at any price.
ACTION ACTION ACTION !!! Announcement from the Independent Taxi Alliance (ITA)
Who are the ITA???
The Independent Taxi Alliance is a proactive umbrella group, formed to highlight corruption through legitimate protest. Non attributed
Remember, if we roll over with the Bank Junction exclusion, we will be perceived to be weak and ineffective. It's time to answer the call.
If the trade is to exit stage left....lets make sure we go out fighting tooth and nail.
1 comment:
Inevitable really.
People gave the TfL the benefit of the doubt and acted in good faith but as Mr John Ormes said in another context ‘leopards don’t change their spots do they’.
No minutes and plausible deniability all round, that might suit the bluffers and bullshitters that infest the trade but not me.
You can bet when the ironically titled ‘onside’ Mine Brown met with the Uber CEO there would have been lawyers taking down every word, funny how ‘onside’ Mike can’t find time to meet with the cab trad
Contemptible.
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