No more protests to start school year, Newman urges

As some taxi operators withdrew their services yesterday, President of Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), Egeton Newman, said it is time to “do away” with the practice of striking at the start of school.

“I think we should do away with that but let me tell you, when people are overwhelmed with certain situations, we carve out our own strategy. They think that with this morning the government will listen to them much more louder than any other morning. That is why they plan it for this morning,” he said.

The timing of the strike, however, did not sit well with some commuters, who were left scrambling for transportation as thousands of students returned to school. But a St Ann taxi operator told THE STAR that the day was strategically selected.

“Everyone has this concern now and not when the place was locked down two years straight and we are just standing up for our livity. We want to do it in the more affectable way,” he said. Newman, while acknowledging that a strike at the start of the school term is disruptive, said the situation is more complicated.

“I think though that if it was a national demonstration, it would have been total chaos, but the fact is we need to go away with it. But how? Because each demonstration in the parishes had a different reason. But to say do away with demonstrations around this time, it’s hard, but I was not interested in it,” he said. Newman said that the protests showed a growing sense of frustration among operators.

“There is a lack of communication with the transport sector, two major angles, one from government, the transport authority and from their own president. There are 52 presidents across the island to deal with operators and communicate with members,” he said.

Meanwhile, one taxi operator who travels a seven-mile stretch on the Exchange to Ocho Rios route and who withdrew his services, said the protest was also linked to the impending demerit point system and the financial struggles facing operators.

According to the operator, he spends around $7,000 on gas daily, leaving him with little profit. He compared his daily earnings to “two box food money”.

“If a labourer work $5,000 a day and it’s 1,000 for one box food, so what we are working for the day is five box food? If we think about it, working in the day, we need two box food and then one for dinner, so that’s three. Which means we only a work for two box food, $2,000.”