Negotiations between the taxi union and Coventry Connections have broken down.
Local Unifor 1688 President Amrik Singh tells 580 CFRA that Coventry rejected the union's offer of a 100% fee increase. That would've seen the monthly fee taxis pay rise from $335 to $750.
Coventry didn't make a counter offer. Singh says the union will meet tomorrow to determine it's next move.
Jerry Dias, Unifor's National President, joined the picket line today in solidarity with the hundreds of airport taxi drivers who are protesting a hike in pick-up fees from $345 a month to $5 a fare.
Taxi drivers argue the fee is too high and will dramatically decrease their take-home pay. The fleet's parent company, Coventry Connections, has said pick-up fees have not been increased in more than a decade and that the hike was part of a new deal with the Ottawa Airport Authority for exclusive pick-up rights.
In a press release, the Airport Authority said it continues to encourage the Union representing the drivers to join Coventry at the negotiating table. The Airport Authority met with Unifor today to discuss the existing agreement between the Airport Authority and Coventry Connections, but said it "would not insert itself into labour negotiations between a private contractor."
"The agreed-upon solution is one of long-term stability for our customers and for the drivers. Coventry is currently fulfilling their contractual agreements with a large workforce of drivers who are delivering a high standard of service," the statement read.
In protest over the new agreement, cabbies have been driving around the airport in convoys, honking their horns and in some cases, purposely driving below the speed limit to stall traffic.
According to Dias, Unifor and Coventry Connections are heading back to the bargaining table this evening with the hopes of reaching an agreement.
