The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Taxi Cab Union has accused acting Road Traffic Controller Kelsey Munroe of selectively enforcing the law in favour of livery operators, escalating a longstanding airport transport dispute and warning there will be no end to the conflict while the two sectors are treated differently.

BTCU president Tyrone Butler made the accusation yesterday after Mr Munroe warned taxi and livery drivers that any protest or industrial action must remain lawful and peaceful.

Mr Munroe said the Road Traffic Department would not tolerate drivers blocking or deliberately obstructing roads, airport entrances, hotels, cruise ports, tourist attractions or other public facilities.

He said deliberately preventing or interrupting the free flow of traffic, or leaving a vehicle in a position that caused an obstruction, was an offence under the Road Traffic Act. Drivers could face police intervention, prosecution and other penalties, while public service drivers could have their licences or badges suspended or revoked following an investigation.

Mr Butler responded by accusing the acting controller of focusing on potential breaches by taxi drivers while ignoring what the union considers unlawful conduct by livery operators at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

He accused Mr Munroe of “cherry picking” which provisions he wanted to enforce.

“Tell him the law is not just for taxi drivers,” Mr Butler said. “It's also for livery drivers.”

He questioned why Mr Munroe was publicly warning the union when, he said, the acting controller should also be examining whether livery operators were working outside the conditions of their franchises.

Mr Butler challenged Mr Munroe to enforce the law against both sectors.

“Is he not man enough,” he said, “or does he not have the authority to say to the livery drivers, ‘Your franchise don't allow you to be out here working in the same space as taxi drivers’?”

He went further, accusing Mr Munroe of becoming “another agent for livery drivers”, alongside the Minister of Transport and Minister of Tourism.

“So he is now showing himself to be another agent for livery drivers,” Mr Butler said, “just like the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Tourism.”

He said the union believed the government was prepared to overlook conduct by livery operators that the BTCU considers unlawful while demanding that taxi drivers comply with the law.

Mr Butler also rejected Mr Munroe's warning about traffic obstruction, alleging that livery drivers were already interfering with taxi operators at the airport.

“Does he realise that's what livery drivers are doing every day?” he said. “Ask him what he is doing about that. Livery drivers are doing that to the taxi drivers every day.”

“Why is he not addressing what livery drivers are doing to the airport?” Mr Butler said. “They are standing there, striking and impeding our ability to get our jobs.”

Mr Butler did not confirm yesterday whether the union planned industrial action.

“I can't speak to any plans for any industrial action,” he said.

He nevertheless warned that the union saw no resolution to the dispute while it believed the Road Traffic Department and government were favouring livery operators.

“All I can say is that the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union sees no end in this saga,” Mr Butler said, “as long as the minister, the controller of road traffic, and the government continue to fight for the rights of livery drivers and not the rights of taxi drivers.”

He said the union was not intimidated by Mr Munroe's warning and pointed to its ability to seek recourse through the courts.

“You know, he's the controller,” Mr Butler said. “He has to do what he has to do. But you know, we also have a court and he's an officer of the court. And if anybody understands that, it should be him.”

Mr Munroe had also urged the BTCU to reconsider its withdrawal from discussions with livery operators, saying respectful dialogue offered the best prospect for resolving the dispute.

Mr Butler rejected that appeal, arguing that the government, as industry regulator, was the only party with which the union should negotiate.

He said the BTCU would not negotiate directly with livery operators over an arrangement that, in his view, would legitimise conduct that is not permitted under the existing law.

“You can't ask this union or force the Bahamas taxi cab union to go sit down with somebody that's not legal,” Mr Butler said, “to talk about an arrangement to make them legal.”