The assembly was convened by the Single Taxi Guild in a “serious and urgent” manner on Wednesday, December 15. The multinational Uber, staunch enemy of the sector, had announced the opening of the application so that taxi drivers could also operate in it. In that instance, the partners demanded sanctions for those who signed up for the new Uber Taxi mechanism.. Until then, I’m sure.
The rest are rumors that swarm on the other side of the partitions. But At the end of the meeting, the message that reached the taxi drivers of Montevideo was that, if they joined Uber, they would be expelled from the radio station and from Voy en taxi. More than ten operators consulted –between calls and walks down the street– ratified The Observer that version, including two of the 125 taxi drivers who are already driving with the application today.
The Observer He consulted the president of the Guild, Francisco Salanova, the secretary Hagop Panossian and the manager Óscar Dourado on this issue, and the three refused to provide any type of information.. The Employer also denied access to the minutes of the assembly. The silence comes after a criminal complaint for grievances months ago led to Dourado’s public retraction. The Guild wants to avoid new confrontations with Uber.
After refusing to speak at first, the director for the opposition, Gabriel Rodríguez, declared to The Observer: “We are calm and confident that the partners are not going to use the application”. The leader also refused to report on the content of the minutes, although he clarified that the board must make a decision in the event that one of the partners is found to be working with Uber – something that he considered will not happen.
Radio taxis from Montevideo also participated in this assembly. consulted by The Observer, the manager of Celeritas, Luis Santana, replied: “Yes, they summoned the other radio stations, but I cannot provide you with that information (resolution of the assembly).” The leader argued on the other hand that the measure towards taxi drivers with Uber refers to “an internal issue of each institution”, although he referred the query to the Employer. Before the mention of the pressures with which the operators work, he sentenced: “I have it very clear and well present, and I cannot give you any comment”.
“It is being studied at a global and individual level. I can’t give you more of that information”, settled Santana for the case of Celeritas.
In the direction of the Employer they understand that the workers who register to offer their taxi services through Uber are choosing to stay outside the union. In fact, this means not receiving clients through Radio Taxi 141 or the Voy en taxi application.
The Cabify application – which has some 500 taxi drivers under its aegis – observes the debate with concern. “We are concerned that the owner of the taxi cannot choose who he works with. It is something totally coercive when the Taxi tells you: ‘You have to work with us,’” said a source from the company in Uruguay. “That they put us in the same bag when we have been working with the taxi from the beginning, does not make much sense,” he added.
Industry sources indicated that the radios plan to make their partners sign a commitment that they will not operate with the applications. consulted by The Observer, Celeritas and the Guild refused to provide information in this regard.
Leonardo Carreno
The unions refused to provide any information.
Cabify also focuses on Uber and from the company they indicated to The Observer who will seek to “detach” from their practices.
The same controversy had arisen in 2014 due to the ten-day suspension of five permit holders of Radio Taxi 141 for the use of Easy Taxi – which would later be absorbed by Cabify. One of them was Gabriel Rodríguez, today an opponent in the Employers’ Association, who on that date told El Observador: “I am working. I’m not robbing you with the Easy Taxi.”
On that date, Dourado defended that the Ministries of Economy and Labor investigate the reported cases, and stated: “If (the taxi drivers) want to leave the union, let them leave. It seems barbaric to me. I am defending the rights of workers and telephone operators”. The businessman questioned, among other things, that Easy Taxi and SaferTaxi were not registered with the Municipality of Montevideo and that they did not have the security service provided by Radio Taxi.
UberTaxi
At the end of January, Uber Taxi began operating, joining the already existing UberX –with private cars– and Flash –for delivery–. As indicated by the company to The Observer, to date there are about 125 taxi drivers working.
“We are very enthusiastic, there is a very good reception from the taxi drivers who join us every day to increase their profits. In a few days we saw an interesting movement of trips on the weekend at night and on Sunday”, they pointed out.
Registration is still open and must be made by the owners of the vehicles. The price is based on the rates defined for the taximeter by the Ministry of Economy, although the application charges a 1% commission for each trip.
Despite the optimistic vision of the company, in the Taxi Union they emphasize that “the percentage” of taxi drivers who sought to join the new mechanism is negligible, he had indicated to The Observer Secretary General Damián Fernández. “We have not discussed it in assembly, but it is something that is half farfetched that the company does. It will be running out of private cars ”, he had raised in reference to the multinational.
“We understand that Uber does not have to be there. From that definition, it starts that if Uber does not have to be there, the Uber Taxi does not have to be there”, the unionist had declared. On the table is the registry of permit holders of the Municipality of Montevideo, which has been closed since 2019. Uber has attacked the resolution on several occasions, as it implies losing drivers – for various conditions – without being able to reinstate them.
