Taxi drivers’ protest raises interesting question on rights

The planned taxi drivers’ six-day protest in Dublin city centre – now deferred pending talks with the Minister – raises an interesting question about the competing rights of those seeking to protest in public and those impacted by protests.

The planned protests were set to take a variety of forms, including driving in convoy, slow rolling convoys and “remaining parked” on Merrion Square.

They were to follow similar protests which went ahead on two recent Saturdays.

The protests were part of a campaign by taxi drivers to get the Government to ban fixed fares introduced by Uber.

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In choosing how to progress their grievance, the Taxi Drivers Ireland group opted against industrial action or a strike which would have primarily impacted their customers.

Instead they planned to manufacture traffic disruption in the city centre during the busiest period of the year in the belief that this would create a greater level of political pressure, and more quickly.

The proposed protests would also not have had the same level of income loss to drivers as that from industrial action.

The irony is that in seeking to protect their own earnings, the planned taxi drivers’ protest was likely to impact the livelihoods of many of those working in the city, a privilege business owners there pay dearly for in terms of rates.

At face value the row is effectively a workplace dispute, and unlike nurses or teachers, taxi drivers do not have a fixed place of work outside of which to protest. Hence their plan to protest in the city.

The right of residents of the State to protest peacefully in public places is protected under the Constitution.

It is unclear if this right extends to the deliberate weaponising of traffic disruption over a prolonged period, with the aims of taxi drivers trumping those of people seeking to work and carry out business in the city.

If the planned protests had proceeded, it would have been interesting to see how they were policed.

John McManus explores the reasons for the dispute here and notes taxi drivers fear fixed fares are just the start and that Uber is seeking to gradually undermine the system of regulated fares, at the expense of taxi drivers’ livelihoods.

“In theory, one of two things should happen now. The first is that fixed fares will fail because the taxi market is already so competitive that drivers simply cannot afford to take a passenger for anything less than the metered rate. Unlikely.

“The second is that drivers will take passengers for fixed fares, because it’s still worth their while financially. It won’t happen overnight but that is how it will shake out,” John writes.

This assessment gets to the heart of the matter. There is a lack of unanimity among taxi drivers on the fixed fares. Some are likely to work with Uber under the fixed fare structure.

Knowing this, the Taxi Drivers Ireland group is asking the Government to close this option. Viewed in this context the issue looks less like a workplace dispute and more an internal wrangle within a representative group playing out in public.

David Labanyi

Head of Audience

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