TAXI drivers are preparing to strike on Cardiff’s busiest day of the year in protest at an anti-Muslim rally being held in the city centre.
As tens of thousands of people descend on the capital on Saturday to watch Wales take on South Africa at the Millennium Stadium, the Stereophonics play Cardiff City Stadium and Glamorgan take on West Indies A at the Swalec Stadium, some of the city’s 950 hackney drivers will withdraw their services.
Estimates of the numbers of black-and-white cabbies taking part in the strike against the Welsh Defence League’s (WDL) rally range from 80 to 700, but with large amounts of sport and music fans expected Mathab Khan, chairman of the Cardiff Hackney Association, told the Echo he has warned police of the potential for “worrying” disruption.
In addition, Cardiff Bus has said it cannot confirm at this stage whether extra services will be put on.
Service delivery manager Donna McDonald said the company would do its best to run a normal service to make sure everyone gets home safely.
But she warned revellers to allow plenty of time for their journeys “and be mindful there will be a great deal of pressure on the network”.
Rail bosses have also warned long queues could form at Cardiff Central Station even though services have been “strengthened”.
Mr Khan said he believed up to 700 drivers or more could join the strike, expected to run from 10am on Saturday to 10am Sunday.
But Robert Goddard, of Unite Against Fascism, which asked drivers to leave work and join its counter demonstration on Saturday, told the Echo he believed around 80 drivers would take part.
“We have been speaking to a number of taxi drivers that would normally work on that day, but won’t be working in support of the protest we are having,” he said.
“They are joining us in light of the WDL’s demonstration and also in light of the fact they experience racism.”
Hackney drivers on the rank outside Cardiff Central Railway Station yesterday confirmed some drivers were planning to strike.
One man, who did not wish to be named, said he feared he would be at risk of violence if he worked on Saturday and was therefore planning to take part in the strike.
“I have a wife and children to consider,” he said.
But another driver said he could not afford to pass up the opportunity to work on the busiest day of the year. He added he had few worries over his safety.
Mr Khan said as the Cardiff Hackney Association was a non-political organisation it had opted to take a neutral stance on the strike and had not encouraged or discouraged members to take part.
But he confirmed he would not be working on Saturday and would instead be joining the Unite Against Fascism counter demonstration in an individual capacity.
Wales Online
