Union Taxi drivers protest hike in collection target

Drivers of Union taxi service have stopped work since Monday morning to protest against the company’s decision to increase the minimum collection target.

Almost 500 vehicles have already assembled in front of the office of the Union Taxi in Sharjah and drivers say another 500 would join before evening.

The company recently announced to its drivers that they will have to earn a revenue of Dh335 in order to earn 30 per cent as commission, an increase of almost 22 per cent.

The new rule is scheduled to come into force from Monday.

“Until today the target was Dh275. Even then we managed to earn a commission of Dh2500 to 3000 of which Dh1000 was deducted by the company as running cost. So technically we only used to take home Dh1500 toDh2000 per month. This after working for almost 16 to 18 hours a day. The new rule will reduce our earnings to less than 1000. We do not want to continue here,” said an Indian taxi driver.

According to him all drivers opposed the decision when it was announced last week.

Taxi drivers in Dubai have no salaries and are paid only a commission on their daily collection. “This is the wrong time to increase the targets,” he said.

Many drivers told Emirates 24|7 that the number of passengers has gone down since the beginning of economic slowdown.

“Added to this the minimum tariff for taxis was raised to Dh10 a month ago. Ever since, we have lost out on short rides as well. Passengers who would go for less than one or two kilometres now prefer to walk. Some of them, especially from bus stops, pool in to save money. Meanwhile we are the losers,” said another driver.

According to him while the drivers used to earn a minimum of Dh40 every hour only on short rides, their earnings have dropped significantly. “We hardly get a short drive these days,” he added.

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