Dozens of Capital Taxi drivers have joined the ongoing taxi protest that has seen drivers picket outside the Ottawa Airport with "Locked Out" signs for more than two weeks.

Coventry Connections, the company that manages Capital Taxi, says it has suspended 80 drivers who refused to pay montly service fees. That decision sparked outrage among drivers who took to the streets Thursday, protesting outside the main offices for Coventry Connections.

Capital drivers say the protest stems from a new collective agreement proposed by Coventry Connections on Monday, August 24th, 2015.

Georges Chamoun, the Chairman of Capital Taxi, says his fleet's main concerns are the length of the contract, set at three years, as well as service fees of more than $500.

"They used to work 10 hours a day, now they work maybe 18 to just keep up with the payment and what their needs are. That means no more life value for these drivers,” says Chamoun.

In addition to monthly fees, cabbies must also pay insurance premiums that can cost up to $900 a month.

Thursday's protest outside Coventry Connections comes more than two weeks after Airport Taxis began a protest over what they call a steep increase pick-up fees at the Ottawa International Airport. A new agreement between Coventry Connections and the Airport Authority over exclusive pick-up rights saw the fees for individual drivers increase from $1.50 per fare to $5.00 per fare.

“We just need a decent collective agreement…when you say you don’t want to move an inch and we move a kilometers, that’s not negotiations,” says Amrik Singh, the Union President of Unifor.

The groing protest comes at an emotional time for taxi drivers who are already feeling pressured by Uber.

“We should be fighting Uber at this time. We were planning a big move against Uber, but Coventry Connections was in a big rush to force our people to pay more money to them,” Singh says.

It's that reason Coventry Connections says the terms of their agreement are necessary.

“I want to be able to invest accordingly in our systems and make sure we can compete properly with whoever is supposedly coming into our market,” says Marc Andre Way, the co-owner of Coventry Connections.   

Way says Coventry Connections has contacted the Ministry of Labour to conduct a vote that would allow Capital drivers to weigh-in on the proposed agreement.