Corruption and an influx of Indian students attending international colleges is killing the taxi industry, insiders say.
They say an explosion of racism and corruption in the taxi industry is partly due to dodgy recruiting practices among colleges who are luring Indian students to Australia.
Veteran drivers say the industry can no longer support the huge number of workers, many of them Indian students, who are scrambling to keep afloat.
Drivers who were once able to earn a living from driving now make as little as $5 an hour.
Last month tensions boiled over at Brisbane airport, when an Indian taxi driver was involved in a stoush with a Federal Police officer for parking illegally.
There have also been reports of racist attacks against Indian cab drivers, accusations drivers have been given open licences without background checks, and booking companies are said to have allowed drivers to pass tests without sitting them.
Lee Sims from the Cab Drivers Association Queensland says the tensions are the result of a corrupt industry.
He says a big part of the problem starts when young people are lured into coming to Australia by agents from international TAFE colleges.
"Cab drivers come up with all sorts of stories [but] we've found this proved to be true," he said.
"Agents in the Punjab - and it's largely from the Punjab region - they've suddenly got cashed up from the globalisation and the industrialisation of India and there's a lot of new wealth over there."
Mr Sims says these agents tell people in India they can study and make good money working in Australia.
"They come here under the guise that they'll get to Australia where there are greater opportunities for employment, last here long enough to get residency, then ultimately citizenship, then send back home to bring others over," he said.
"That's the way in and it's been proven around the world the way to do it is through the service industry, such as taxis, cleaning and security."
Mr Sims says once students arrive in Australia they join an already flooded sector, where the number of taxis competing for jobs means the average driver's wage has dropped to just over $20,000 a year.
Camping at ranks
Del Singh bought a cab as part of his retirement plan in Brisbane. He occasionally drives himself, but often hires drivers to use his vehicle.
Mr Singh says in the past few years the wage of cab drivers has halved. He says taxi drivers are camping out at ranks, particularly at the airport, at all hours of the night to try and snag a fare.
He says Australia's international colleges have taken advantage of young people.
"I know some people who are here doing courses and they're paying hefty amounts for TAFE colleges. Even for them now to give up those courses, TAFE colleges want money. So it's a big rip off," he said.
"TAFE colleges, institutes are finding agents who must be raising false hopes that you can [come to Australia], make lots of money, you can study.
"And a lot of those students are coming here and having hardships.
"There used to be a driver who used to work for me and his sister was in Melbourne and they come from India and they were trying to get out of the TAFE colleges and they were saying you have to pay that much before they would let them go."
Mr Singh says many international students tried their hand at cab driving because, up until recently, it was a quick and easy process to get a licence.
"They could do their training within four days and within weeks of coming into this country they could start driving taxis and earning their living," he said.
National Union of Students president Carla Drakeford says it is a problem that has been going on for a long time.
"There are lots of auxiliary costs associated with these colleges that are often not disclosed and a lot of these colleges ask for payments up front. That's one of the biggest problems," she said.
"I've spoken to students who are taxi drivers who say they have to work ridiculous hours to try and pay for this stuff up front because their parents don't necessarily know everything [that's going on] and they're too embarrassed to go home and ask for money from their parents."
She says things are set to get tougher for international students.
"At the moment we're facing a situation where private colleges are collapsing because their providers are dodgy and because new migration laws and changes are coming which will limit students' ability to gain permanent residency," she said.
"So all these concerns are starting to add up for Indian students who are coming out of here."
'Taxi mafia'
Queensland's Workplace Ombudsman Don Brown last month handed down a report into the taxi industry in the state.
He found workers in the industry are at the mercy of taxi booking companies, who in turn have no industry watchdog to answer to.
"The taxi industry investigation was not welcomed by senior and influential elements of the industry," the report said.
Mr Sims agrees and says drivers can be laid off at a moment's notice with no recourse to make a complaint.
Taxi drivers generally do not receive superannuation, sick leave, or holiday leave, and they have to pay GST on their earnings.
Mr Sims says companies often demand 60 per cent of taxi takings and, because they control the booking service, individual drivers have no choice but to comply.
"They often talk about the taxi mafia. I don't want to give them that much respect," he said.
"It's inherent. It's a bit incestuous. They hold up the industry by intimidation and fear."
He says corruption, coupled with the huge influx of overseas workers flooding the roads, makes it impossible to earn a living and survive as a driver.
While he praised the Ombudsman's report, Mr Sims says he expects the Government will continue to turn a blind eye to the problems in the industry.
Source:http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/06/2975104.htm?section=business
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