Union Call For Driver Protection

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday June 28, 2007

By MICHELLE HOCTOR

THE Transport Workers' Union is calling for urgent installation of perspex cages in all Wollongong cabs and buses to protect drivers from acts of violence.

The call by TWU South Coast secretary Richard Olsen follows an increase in attacks on the city's transport operators.

This includes Cringila taxi driver Farouk Elmoubayed, who was punched in the head by a passenger in the early hours of Saturday morning while taking three men from Shellharbour Hotel to Barrack Heights.

Mr Elmoubayed received stitches to his eye and back of the head and his taxi was kicked and damaged.

Mr Olsen said city taxi and bus drivers were being abused on a daily basis.

"We have conducted surveys over the years. It wouldn't be far wrong to say 80 per cent of bus drivers have had some form of incident, whether it be rocks through the window or being spat on or verbally abused," he said.

Mr Olsen said transport workers were especially vulnerable to attacks and it was for this reason assaults were treated by the court system with the same severity as attacks on police officers.

He said safety measures were urgently needed to protect workers, including the introduction of perspex cages.

"These drivers work at all hours of the night and don't discriminate against the passengers they pick up. The community has an expectation they should be protected as much as possible," he said.

He said bus and taxi operators had a level of responsibility to ensure staff were trained in self-protection.

"Operators have a duty of care to drivers and one of the things should be training to help them deal with hostile customers," he said.

Meantime, the Department of Defence is investigating an allegation two navy personnel verbally abused a 21-year-old taxi driver en route to Port Kembla on Sunday night.

Police and Radio Cabs of Wollongong could not confirm the claim, made on talkback radio yesterday.