Unionist says taxi strike called off as govt extends olive branch to cabbies

A unionist said a planned taxi strike scheduled for Wednesday morning has been called off after the government extended an olive branch - agreeing to review existing laws on unauthorized ride-hailing services. 

Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, told a radio program this morning that authorities have agreed to meet with the trade as soon as possible over the issue and pledged to strengthen efforts to crack down on unauthorized ride-hailing services.

He also said cabbies were concerned about whether industrial actions were appropriate, and they ultimately decided to put a halt to the strike.

Chau said unauthorized ride-hailing services have been a problem for years which undermined their businesses, thus, luring young blood away from joining the industry.

The trade had previously proposed installing surveillance cameras and navigation systems on board to improve their services, yet no assistance has been offered by the government, said Chau.

Meanwhile, Wong Yue-ting, who chairs the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association, told another radio program this morning that the strike was called off as they believe authorities will live up to their promise to step up enforcement against unauthorized operators.