Taxi-drivers to stay on strike until deal is agreed, say unions

Taxi-drivers will not go back to work until they get a reasonable compromise from the Minister of State for the Environment, …

Taxi-drivers will not go back to work until they get a reasonable compromise from the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Robert Molloy, the National Taxi Drivers' Union and the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation said last night.

Speaking after a joint meeting at the National Stadium in Dublin, Mr Vincent Kearns, of the NTDU, said his members could not contemplate returning to work under the present circumstances.

"We're not going back," was the chant from the taxi-drivers after the three-hour meeting.

Mr Kearns said his members were hoping for a positive outcome from tomorrow's High Court hearing with Mr Justice Peter Kelly.

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Tomorrow, Mr Justice Kelly will hear an application by the NTDU for leave to challenge the decision to deregulate the taxi industry.

"We will then sit down and come up with a substantial increase in taxi numbers but there will have to be a compromise," Mr Kearns said.

Asked what would happen if the High Court decision did not favour the taxi-drivers, Mr Kearns said his members were thinking positively.

It is understood the possible disruption of President Clinton's visit in mid-December was canvassed by some taxi-drivers, although it is not being proposed by the leadership.

The National Taxi Drivers' Union rejected a suggestion that there was a split between SIPTU and the other two unions. Earlier in the day there were indications that SIPTU members might return to work next week.

Asked how long the taxi-drivers would stay on strike, Mr Kearns said some drivers had put their mortgages on hold for six months. Drivers would put their mortgages on hold for a year if necessary.

Over 2,000 taxi-drivers attended the meeting at the National Stadium.

Meanwhile, the president of the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation has apologised for any embarrassment caused to gardai during ugly scenes during a protest march on Tuesday.

Mr Tommy Gorman said he had met senior gardai yesterday morning to discuss what had occurred as up to 3,000 taxi-drivers and their families made their way to the Dail. "We apologised if we caused them embarrassment. It appears that it is coming down from the Commissioner that they don't want any embarrassment," said Mr Gorman, adding that this would be communicated to his members.

The use of children in the protest was condemned by PD Senator Mairin Quill. She said it was an "absolute disgrace" that children were used as human shields to break down a Garda barrier.

"It is an understatement to say that the actions of taxi-drivers were cowardly and grossly irresponsible. A street fight is no place to push terrified children to the front," she said.

She called on gardai and the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, to apply the law to ensure that any bully-boy tactics would not succeed in preventing new taxis from coming on to the streets.

The meeting with gardai was also attended by Mr John Ussher, president of the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation.

Mr Gorman said he had explained to gardai that the march was organised by the wives of taxi-drivers. "We [union leaders] had no part to play in it. We were at a meeting in a hotel at that time.'

He said no guarantees had been given to the Garda by his union concerning the march because it did not organise it. The wives and mothers of taxi-drivers had decided "to put the kids up front".

The issue was discussed at the Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting yesterday. However, discussion centred on the problems of taxi-drivers outside Dublin rather than the situation in the capital.

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