Ben Edge, Northampton
Hundreds of taxi and private hire drivers, mobilised by the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU), protested outside West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) on 23 February. Proposed rule changes, out for public consultation until 26 March, target migrant and ethnic minority workers while failing to address driver and passenger safety.
The taxi and private hire industry contains a large ethnic minority workforce. A 2022 survey by the Department for Transport found that Asian or Asian British workers make up 42% of all drivers in England and Wales. The ADCU says this statistic is far higher in Northampton. 23% of drivers in England are non-UK nationals, up ten percentage points from 2010.
Under new rules, any driver who has lived abroad as an adult for longer than three months at a time must provide a “certificate of good conduct” from each country of residence. For foreign nationals, this applies to any driver who has not lived in the UK continually for more than five years.
WNC’s actions could also have disastrous consequences for drivers who moved to Britain to flee repressive regimes. As ADCU President Yaseen Aslam told the local press: “You have migrant workers who come here as asylum seekers, let’s say they come from Afghanistan running away from the Taliban. They will now have to go back home to their country for a certificate of good conduct.”
The council claims these new measures aim to “keep passengers in private hire vehicles and taxis safe.” However, the requirements for licensed operators are woefully inadequate. The operators have no obligation to provide their workers with first aid training and equipment, or to record violence and abuse towards drivers.
WNC is also looking to restrict drivers’ appearances and dress codes. The policy changes threaten licensing action against those who fail “to offer reasonable assistance with luggage.” None of those rules have anything to do with passenger safety. Instead, like many of the proposals, they are a flagrant attack on workers’ rights.
Other policies are vaguely worded, like the pledge to penalise those “not behaving in a civil and orderly manner.” ADCU members have voiced concerns that officials could take advantage of this ambiguity to further discriminate against drivers.
As Yaseen explained, “What you see here is just the start of something. We’re going to keep coming back again and again… We’re quite militant. We know what we need. We know what we’re fighting for. And we will continue fighting until we win.”
