Addison Lee drivers to gridlock Mayfair on Tuesday
Over 100 Addison Lee drivers are set to gridlock Mayfair’s Berkeley Square tomorrow during a major protest over a fall in pay rates.
Members of GMB, the union for private hire drivers, will block the road outside the office of Carlyle Group, that bought Addison Lee for £300m in 2013.
The union claims that Addison Lee, the UK’s largest minicab operator, cut drivers’ pay to compete with taxi app Uber in the capital.
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Steve Garelick, branch secretary of the GMB union’s professional drivers branch, told City PM: “Carlyle Group imposed deals and slashed pay rates without consulting the drivers or the union. Some drivers have seen their pay reduce by up to 50 per cent and this has left many drivers worse off.
“We don’t want to demean the [Addison Lee] brand. We’re upset about the lack of engagement and want the drivers to be fairly compensated.”
In April this year, Addison Lee drivers staged a protest in Berkeley Square over pay disputes.
In a statement, Addison Lee said: "The GMB does not speak for the vast majority of Addison Lee drivers. Addison Lee drivers – like most in the private hire industry – work on a self-employed basis and decide their own hours.
"Addison Lee is at present in the process of rolling out a new driver pay deal. It is the best in the industry and it has been developed in response to driver feedback. Addison Lee drivers have been responding extremely positively to the new pay deal and the overwhelming majority who have been offered it have chosen to sign up."