Portugal’s taxi driver union boss today announced that his members will be striking daily until Uber is banned.
The union leadership is attempting to put pressure on the justice minister whom they want to ‘enforce the law’ which they interpret as requiring Uber vehicles to hold a license to carry passengers.
"We're going to campaign every day, not just on one day, every day," said Florencio Almeida the president of the National Association of Road Carriers for Passenger Cars (ANTRAL).
The aim is to campaign through strike action in the lead up to the general election on October 4th unless Almeida gets an earlier response from Justice Minister Paulo Teixeira da Cruz, whcih is unlikely.
The association aims to stop traffic at Lisbon airport, to stop traffic at Santa Apolonia train station and each day organise wild cat action, “even during the election campaign," said Almeida after a meeting today with the Economy Minister António Pires de Lima and the Secretary of State for Transport, Sergio Monteiro.
"For as long as our problems are not resolved, we can not be satisfied," said Almeida after the fruitless meeting in which he got a feeling that the economy minister "was also concerned" about the issue.
According to the union boss, "because of what is going on and the decisions of the court not being implemented, the economy minister pledged that he would talk to the justice minister - who also promised after the last strike to let us know what was happening and why the decisions of the courts have not been upheld - to give us an answer in the coming days, but he also understands that this government's term is almost over and there’s not much that can be done."
On September 8th, more than 3,500 taxi drivers in Lisbon, Oporto and Faro protested in a 'go-slow' against the transport of passengers by vehicles linked to the Uber online booking and transport system, which they accused of acting illegally in Portugal.
On this strike day, taxi drivers’ union officials were welcomed by Justice Minister Paula Teixeira da Cruz, who accepted a dossier outlining their complaints.
After that meeting, Florencio Almeida expressed satisfaction saying that Paula Teixeira da Cruz assured them that she would discuss the matter with the finance minister and a solution would be found "in the coming days."
That was two weeks ago and not a word from the justice minister who soon may no longer be the justice minister should the ruling coalition fail to win the forthcoming election.
Taxi drivers and their unions in other countries have contended that Uber and similar smartphone app-based services have an unfair advantage because they are not subject to the same kinds of fees and regulations placed on taxis.
In September 2014, the spokesman for Uber in Portugal said the company "is legal in all markets in which it operates" and that Uber registered drivers were qualified to provide the service.
According to ANTRAL, the Central Court in Lisbon agreed on April 28th to an injunction which prohibited the services provided by Uber in Portugal, a decision that was confirmed by the same court in June but one that has caused legal questions to be raised as the injunction was taken out against 'Uber Inc.', a US business.
The Bank of Portugal spotted this error and rightly refused to block Uber Portugal bank accounts and payments as it had been instructed by the court, as Uber Portugal is not Uber Inc. as per the injunction.
The president of ANTRAL accuses Uber of "continuing to work in the same way" that it worked before the court decision - even though the court decision has nothing to do with Uber in Portugal.
This legal battle continues with the union under pressure from its members to halt Uber in Portugal before it takes off as many customers preferring Uber for its speed of service and price advantage.
