Hundreds of taxi drivers protest against pay cuts

Tawasul drivers refuse to work arguing that they were asked to sign a new agreement that increases their monthly target revenue expectations and reduces their commission.

ABU DHABI // Hundreds of Tawasul drivers refused to work yesterday arguing that they were asked to sign a new agreement that increased monthly target revenue expectations and reduced their commission.

A Sri Lankan driver said that nearly all 1,000 employees refused to work.

After Tawasul company management contacted the Abu Dhabi Police when drivers refused to begin their daily shifts, the police went to the drivers' accommodation in Musaffah and asked that several of them come to the police station to investigate the situation.

"This is a matter that the Ministry of Labour would deal with," a police official said.

When approached at the police station yesterday, Tawasul officials refused to comment.

Drivers said they have organised a trip to the labour court this morning to present their case.

This is not the first time Tawasul has been under fire for employee salary issues. In February 2010, 100 drivers filed a complaint claiming that the company was withholding their wages. Tawasul, however, said that drivers were attempting to exploit the labour law to work elsewhere. To date, many of these drivers claim they still have no resolution.

Israar Ahmed, a Pakistani driver, said this is the third time the agreement has been changed in the past year. "They keep changing the commission scheme every three to five months, and the company tells us that if we don't sign, we will have to return to our home countries."

Another Sri Lankan driver said his monthly target was increased from Dh12,000 to Dh12,250, with a nearly Dh1,000 reduction of his salary, from Dh3,900 to Dh2,940.

Drivers claimed they were running 16- to 19-hour work shifts to meet the previous quotas.

"At this rate, we'll barely be able to sleep," the Sri Lankan driver said.