Some taxis unhappy with new Tourism Village rules
This morning it was not business as usual for some taxi drivers at Terminal Four at the Fort Street Tourism Village. They claim they were being kept from making their living because of favouritism and unreasonable treatment from the Belize City Council. But that opinion was not shared by the City Council or the other Village taxi union.
John Pollard, President, Tourist Village Taxi Association
“This morning when we come, the police went to City Council and got a listing and he said this dah the listing weh we wah follow. We are saying that we are not going to allow no listing because we are a registered body as a union. We present our listing and we take care of business and that’s what we’re saying.”
“But the police have the listing. Corporal Pitts, the police that is standing over deh have a paper with the listing for the rotation and we cannot allow that.”
Marion Ali
“That listing includes your people as well?”
John Pollard
“That includes my people but my people are at the bottom of the listing and that is our concern. To every time the rotation happens our personnel are at the bottom of the paper. The other ones they are always at the top, United Tour.”
Marion Ali
“That’s the other taxi …”
John Pollard
“United Tour Union is the other union.”
Kenny Morgan, Public Relations Officer, CitCo
“In order that the revenue can be fairly and evenly distributed among all the taxi drivers, a rotation system has been put in place where we allow the taxi or we designated the taxi drivers on different days on a rotating basis. If there is any tour guide or taxi operator out there who has already taken the training but has not yet received the certificate, those names are also—as long as the person has already gone through the training programme their names are included on the list so they get an equal chance like everyone else to work at any of the terminal gates that are designated.”
Marion Ali
“And if they haven’t yet gotten or earned that certificate?”
Kenny Morgan
“Well now that’s a different … because we have to maintain a certain standard with regards to the persons who are allowed to interact and do business with the tourists coming to our shores. So the taxi men who do not have their tour guide certification, it is only legal and right that they should not be allowed to be a part of the work group. There are persons who have extended and expended their time and their resources in making sure that they are certified.”
Marion Ali
“So, what happens to these guys who don’t have it?”
Kenny Morgan
“Well, the recommendation is that they enroll in one of the training programmes.”
Lyndon Tillett, Acting President, United Tour Union
“The Taxi Union, they have ample time to do their tour guide courses. We’ve been going through this for over three years now. They had—it was supposed to be in January, then it went back to November, then it went two or three years ago and now they gave them extra time to finish their tour guide license. Fifty people started the course, twenty-seven completed the course, eight passed the course.”
Marion Ali
“Well, he told me that all his members, if they’re not going—just about to become tour guides, they already have their certificate.”
Lyndon Tillett
“That’s not true. That’s not true and we know that for a fact. We have documents to prove that that’s not true. Anyway, far as the list is concerned, this is the list right here.”
Marion Ali
“That’s given to you by Mr. Shepherd from the council?”
Lyndon Tillett
“This is given to me … well, actually this is part of our list. This is our rotation as well. This is how we rotate out here. We made this list, we rotate out here. We were asked to put his guys on the list.”
Marion Ali
“Asked by who?”
Lyndon Tillett
“By City Council. Actually, when we went in the meeting John was in the meeting with us, Mr. Pollard, president of the other union, he was in the meeting with us. We discussed this around the table. We said yeah put your guys and we wah put fi we guys and everybody going pan one list. He agreed to that but when he came out here the next day he changed the whole subject. He didn’t tell his guys what he agreed to when he went in that meeting. He came out here and told them that we start force him to do this and force him to do that but that’s not how it happened.”
Of the eighty-four taxi members of the Tourism Village Taxi Association, twenty have gone elsewhere, and its president, John Pollard, says the remainder who do not yet have their tour guide license, are working towards earning that certification.
