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原帖由 西北农夫 于 2008-4-30 15:17 发表 
这种游行形象比华人的游行差多了,不知道印度人是否会有象本论坛JONES一样的人出来,大吼一声"不喜欢澳大利亚,?那你就滚出去!"
Victory ... protesting cabbies outside Flinders Street Station.
事实上，合情合理的示威抗议诉求最后得到了州政府的让步。到昨天中午时，维州交通部长Lynne Kosky与出租车司机代表进行谈判，经过两个小时的闭门会谈，州政府向出租车司机提出的要求屈服：
1）未来十二个月内，维州的出租车都将分批安装司机防劫安全钢丝网，州政府负责一半的费用；
2）州政府同意制定晚上10点到次日凌晨5点采取先预付出租车车费的方法，并且重新检讨整个出租车收费制度；
3）州政府同意支付前天被刺伤印度裔出租车司机的医疗费用，豁免昨天参加集会的出租车因违章停车而得到的罚单；
4）州政府承诺展开一项宣传运动让社会公众理解出租车司机。（State Government promised an education campaign to help the public get to "know taxi drivers.）
Cabbies boilover ends in victory
May 1, 2008 The Age
A MASS blockade of central Melbourne by taxi drivers has spurred the Victorian Government into immediate action on their demands, with safety screens to be installed for drivers who want them, and pre-payment of fares to become mandatory at night.
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky agreed to the moves after hundreds of angry drivers — in an extraordinary act of spontaneous mass protest — blocked traffic for 22 hours at the city's busiest intersection, Flinders and Swanston streets.
All but two of the demands of the drivers — who are paid on average just $8 an hour — were met. In addition to safety screens and pre-payment, the Government agreed to waive parking fines incurred by the protesting drivers, and promised an education campaign to help the public get to "know taxi drivers".
While discontent among drivers has been building for years, the cue for the demonstration was the stabbing of driver Jalvinder Singh, 23, on Tuesday in Clifton Hill.
After initially being listed in critical condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Mr Singh's condition had improved by last night to serious but stable.
The protesters, who began gathering at the intersection on Tuesday afternoon, had swelled in numbers to about 500 by lunchtime yesterday.
Many of the drivers, who were of Indian background, used the occasion to level complaints of racism against the public and police. Among six demands circulated among the crowd was this: "All the complaints by migrants should be seriously adhered to by police."
One driver, Rakesh Beri, 24, said drivers were regularly treated like fools. Many who were robbed, or even bashed, were not taken seriously by authorities, he said, prompting many to give up reporting incidents.
A police spokeswoman rejected the racism claim, saying: "All reports of crime (are treated) seriously and in a professional and unbiased manner."
Ms Kosky did not respond directly to claims of police racism, saying only: "I'm very concerned about any racial, racist remarks that are made by passengers."
Pre-payment of fares between 10pm and 5am — a key demand from drivers to deal with the frequent problem of passengers who "do a runner" without paying — will be introduced in the next few months.
Drivers will estimate the amount of the fare before the journey and then the difference, if there is one, will be paid by either the driver or passenger.
The State Government will pay 50% of the cost of introducing safety screens, with the balance to be paid by taxi operators.
The screens, worth $1000 to $1200, will be removable, allowing drivers who do not want them to store them in the boot. At first the installation will cover about 75% of Melbourne's 3800-strong taxi fleet.
The cost of installing the screens is likely to be considered in a fare review being completed by the Essential Services Commission.
Ms Kosky said there would be further meetings with drivers in coming weeks to discuss issues such as security at taxi ranks.
She rejected claims that she had been slow to act on the issue of safety after previous demonstrations in 2006.
Ms Kosky met a delegation representing the drivers for 30 minutes. Among them was driver Gagandeep Singh.
"We asked the taxi drivers to come because we came to know our friend was in hospital stabbed with a knife. We thought we needed to do something because it could happen to us as well," he said.
"He was new to the taxi industry, I personally did not know him but taxi drivers are human beings, we have to care about him."
State Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder, who attended the rally, said he had urged the group to meet Ms Kosky and break up the protest.
Former premier Jeff Kennett, who reformed the taxi industry in the 1990s, said it was crucial that cabbies were "content and happy and proud of their city — so they can enthuse others".
He said the Government had allowed the taxi industry's standards to fall. "It is a good industry and it could be good again."
The reputation of the taxi industry had sunk so low that it was becoming hard to convince anyone but migrants who desperately needed work to do it.
"We have been continually looking to newer Asian settlers, African settlers to do the jobs that Australians think are beneath them," he said. "The qualification for a licence is almost non-existent. I got in a cab the other day and asked the guy how much training he had had. He said 'None'." |
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圣诞节前也有工~在澳洲找到第一份工！讲讲自己的经验 (2009-12-16) bluepenguin 
发表于 2008-4-30 12:53
肯定不会，你这是中文么，印度人不会说。 
