Unifor calls for binding arbitration in airport taxi dispute

The Canadian head of Unifor, the taxi drivers' union, is calling on the province for binding arbitration to bring an end to the Ottawa airport taxi dispute, which is now entering a sixth week.

In an open letter published as a full-page ad in the Ottawa Citizen on Tuesday, Unifor'snationalpresident,Jerry Dias, wrote that the taxi drivers' dispatcher, Coventry Connections, met with the Ottawa airport authority"in secret" and decided to increase the fees drivers pay for the exclusive right to pick up fares at the airport taxi stand.

"This money grab will net the two enterprises millions of dollars. For the drivers, who work long hours at minimum wage levels, it made an already difficult situation impossible. And when they objected, they were locked out," Diaswrote.

Hanif Patni, president of Coventry Connections, told CBC News later Tuesday it's "ridiculous" to characterize the fee increase as a money grab.

'This will have to be on our terms,' Patni says

Since July 2014, Coventrynotifiedthe union and their drivers several timesthat the previous airportfee arrangement was unacceptable, he added.

"We want to be fair, we want all the drivers to be working, but this will have to be on our terms," Patni said, adding that Coventry is not interested in binding arbitration.

"We have put out a very clear offer, maybe over a year [ago] now, and we haven't seen anything credible coming back from Unifor. And then they put out this type of a letter that is completely misleading."

The dealCoventry has proposed wouldseethe drivers taking in about $15 million per year, increasing at two per cent per year for 10 years, whilethe airport collectsabout $1.3 million and Coventry about $625,000.

Diashas said the increased fees taxi drivers have to pay aretoo much, too fast.

"The airport authority who haven't [asked for a fee increase in 22 years] can't try to make up 22 years of inactivity overnight. You can't say to workers that we are going to increase your fees by $1,300 a month when they know they're making minimum wage. That is completely ridiculous,"Diastold CBC News on Aug. 31.

The lockout began Aug. 11. Since then, protests bythe locked-out drivers have sometimes shut down an arterial road to and from the airport, and have sometimes turned violent:

• Taxi passenger dodges flying glass as protesters attack cab near Ottawa airport
• Ottawa police arrest 3 in Airport Parkway taxi vandalism case

The Unifor letter published Tuesdaycalls forKevin Flynn, Ontario's minister of labour, to appoint an arbitrator for binding arbitration. It also calls forthe cost structure and collective agreements to return to what they were before the lockoutand for drivers to be allowedto return to work, pending thearbitration.

It was addressed to Flynn, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, and the presidents of Coventry Connections and the Ottawa airport authority.