THIRTEEN of the 46 green taxi drivers who staged an unauthorized strike in protest at illegal taxi operators in October had been dismissed and were no longer welcome in the industry, Shenzhen s taxi industry self-discipline committee said Monday.
The rest of the drivers were still operating and receiving re-education. The committee announced Nov. 16 that it would dismiss all the 46 drivers.
The drivers, employed by 10 taxi companies in Bao an and Longgang districts, stopped working at various locations from 7 a.m. to midnight Oct. 27, protesting against rampant illegal car and electric bike taxi services. The protesters claimed the illegal taxis were ruining their livelihoods by attracting passengers with cheap charges.
The strike had caused residents great inconvenience and damaged the image of the taxi industry, the committee said.
The dismissed drivers were barred from working for any taxi company.
The strike prompted the city government to reduce the deposit charged to each green taxi driver from 90,000 yuan (US$13,200) per vehicle to 50,000 yuan for the five months between October and February next year. The excess sum of 40,000 yuan previously collected would be refunded to the drivers by next year.
Seventeen taxi companies in Bao an and Longgang complied with the order while one in Longgang Pinghu Auto Co. claimed it would not pay the refunds until the government pays debts owed.
The government owes us 170 million yuan in promised subsidies and allowances, a company manger said. We are in discussions with the government to sort things out.
The company owns 125 taxis and has 259 drivers.
There are three types of taxis in Shenzhen: red, yellow and green. Green taxis are allowed to operate only in Bao an and Longgang districts as well as the Guangming and Pingshan new zones. (Mu Zi)
