Taxi drivers call off work stoppage

Taxi drivers on Wednesday suspended a scheduled six-hour work stoppage for next week to demand state financial support after the finance ministry agreed to include them in its one-off grant.

In a written statement, taxi drivers thanked everyone involved in approving their request to be included in the state support scheme and said they will not go ahead with their protest.

The work stoppage, scheduled for 7am to 1pm on Monday, was expected to affect traffic in city centres and the two airports.

It was scheduled to protest the non-inclusion of the sector in the support schemes announced earlier this year.

“The pandemic continues to affect the taxi industry to a very large extent,” the professional drivers had said, citing the significant decline in tourist arrivals.

As from November 2021 to date, 70 per cent of tourist units and tourist accommodations are closed and will continue to be until April 2022, resulting in an 85 per cent reduction in turnover, the taxi drivers said.