Taxi drivers not in agreement

A deal turned sour has spurred a group of North Shore taxi drivers into action.

Members of North Shore Taxis fear they are being eased out of business by their management and say efforts to resolve issues have fallen on deaf ears. Some 46 of the group's 65 members have signed a petition asking for a meeting to tackle a number of issues and clarify their position with Auckland Co-operative Taxi.

Long-time Shore taxi driver and group spokesman Stjepan Sotirovski says: "Our position in the company is unclear. We're in limbo and management had been ignoring our calls for a meeting to resolve many issues."

Mr Sotirovski says they were approached by Auckland Co-op for a merger in 2000 during which a heads of agreement was signed. A subsidiary company - North Shore Taxis - was formed and existing Shore taxi members became franchisees.

"We were in a difficult financial situation at the time and we agreed to the proposal because that was the best possible option then. We were told service will be excellent, we will share jobs. But suddenly everything turned ugly, we're really disadvantaged."

He says the agreement stipulates that after three years or when North Shore Taxis' $150,000 debt has been paid off, a meeting would decide whether to go with full amalgamation, consider a buy back option or stay as is.

"At a meeting on March 22, 2004, in Glenfield, we were told by Co-op that they were withdrawing the first two options and insisting we stay with the current arrangement, with no defined status of what our position was," Mr Sotirovski says.

In a statement, Auckland Co-op says the option for amalgamation was to be subject to the co-operative's approval within the three-year period as stipulated in the agreement.

"No approval of amalgamation into Auckland Co-op was obtained and clearly the timeframe under which any such arrangement could have been made has long since passed."

It says the group's continued reference to the heads of agreement, that never resulted in a formal binding accord, is unrealistic after nine years have passed.

The company says management have not refused to meet the Shore operators to discuss fleet operation and associated issues but have declined to meet them to discuss North Shore Taxis' ownership.

"It is clearly evident from a search of the company the ownership of that company is solely in the name of Auckland Co-op Taxi Society Ltd," it says.

"Shore drivers are not in limbo, they have continuous in-house representation within Auckland Co-op, they are provided communication services and other benefits within the scope of their company."

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