Taxi drivers at Larnaca Airport held a four-hour work stoppage from seven to eleven in the morning today for "professional survival reasons", as they report.
Taxi drivers at Larnaca Airport are protesting because, as they say, despite repeated meetings with the Licensing Authority and the Road Transport Department, "in practice absolutely no substantial action was taken" and they speak of "uncontrolled action by passenger transport applications, especially in the Larnaca Airport area."
They state that they have two “clear and non-negotiable” demands. Specifically, they are asking for “the immediate and complete disconnection of the signal and activity of all applications from Larnaca Airport outside the province that is the Road Use Permit (outside Larnaca) and strict and universal observance of the taxi seat by all applications, without exceptions, loopholes or interpretations as they please.”
The taxi drivers also demand the “implementation of the law and the restoration of legality,” and note that “the responsibility for what follows will fall solely on those who knew the situation and chose not to act.”
George Makris, press spokesman for the Larnaca District Taxi Committee, said that they are demanding “equality, justice, and legality.” He noted that “we are not asking for anything more, nothing less, and we will not back down from any illegality.”
Mr. Makris stated that "in the event that there are no immediate and substantial actions by the competent authorities, a 24-hour strike will take place on Tuesday, January 20. If no solutions are provided, after a week, specifically on January 28, we will proceed with an indefinite strike," he said.
He noted that "taxi drivers are not in conflict with the state but are asking for state intervention."
Mr. Makris stated that "the existing electronic applications operate by illegally using private cars, while as a whole they do not respect the institutionalized headquarters of taxis according to the law and in accordance with the decision of the Licensing Authority of the Republic of Cyprus."
Mr. Makris noted that "we are not against platforms and applications and evolution, but what is happening to us is not innovation, it is illegality. We want and ask for the help of the state to implement the law by all applications and by all those involved in our profession. We want equality, justice, equality, legality. For us, legality is not a choice or a right, it is an obligation, and we want the state, through its institutionalized institutions, to help cure this problem," he said.
Mr. Makris stated that "there is inaction on this specific issue and inaction increases injustice, inequality and illegality."
He noted that "we are at Larnaca Airport at the gateway to the Republic of Cyprus, which has currently become a center of lawlessness. We want it to be cured, we want supervision, we want the Road Transport Department to be permanently located here, to create a headquarters so that they can be controlled to stop these violations and infringements."
Responding to a question, Mr. Makris stated that "the reality is that every year we observe a decrease in our income of around 40%, to say the least. Unfortunately, we do not see an increase, we see a decrease."
When asked by a journalist whether the taxi drivers are satisfied with the announcement by the Licensing Authority, which, after "expressing surprise and concern about the strike actions announced by POAT, noted that "it will make every possible effort to act as a mediator and supporter, promoting changes to the current regulatory framework," Mr. Makris responded negatively.
"I want to be completely honest. Indeed, an amendment to the road use permit for receiving vouchers has been promoted as they write and they themselves have changed the hours. The issue is who will control this? Our problem is that it is uncontrolled, whether 3 hours or 33, nothing has changed at all. It is not controlled. We want the state's supervisory bodies to come and control, it cannot be done otherwise, they are the only ones who can control, they have institutionalized, legally enshrined authority. Therefore, any change made without supervision is not change, it is not progress," he said.
Source: KYPE
