By IANTHIA SMITH, Guardian Staff Reporter, ianthia@nasguard.com

Public service drivers in the capital are claiming that for years, private tour companies have been illegally cashing in on business operations that should be theirs.

According to President of the Bahamas Public Services Drivers Union (PSDU) Richard Johnson, taxi drivers in the capital are fed up with being locked out of making money from tourists who want to explore the island. Johnson said that with tourism being the number one industry in the country, his union will stop at nothing to make sure its members get piece of the tourism pie.

"Today, I am here to let the Bahamian people know that we are going to step up our efforts at regaining our position on the economic playing field, with respect to the transportation business," Johnson said. "We are going to do everything that we can to economically position ourselves, to take advantage of the opportunities that are presenting themselves now in the country."

Johnson said for too long taxi drivers have been placed on the back burner, when it comes to carrying out the job that he says is rightfully theirs, but has been taken away by greedy private tour companies. The union head explained that members of the public service drivers union were the first transportation entity to submit a proposal to Kerzner International, to provide transportation services for the Atlantis Resort. But Johnson claims that now, local firm Bahamas Experience Limousines and Tours is allegedly using the proposals that his union submitted to Kerzner International and excluding them from the negotiations.

"In addition to that, the workers of Bahamas Experience are now members of the Public Service Drivers Union," Johnson said. " And we now have to deal with that company in respect to the labor relations that they have with our members. We've been trying to resolve the matters for the last year, we now have a recognition agreement from the government and here again we are faced with employers in Bahamas Experience not complying with the rules and regulations in relation to the act."

Johnson wrote a letter to Minster of Labor and Maritime Affairs Dion Foulkes, where he alleged that Bahamas Experience is in direct violation of the Industrial Relations Act section 41 subsections (1) and (3). He added, however, that his union is not trying to hinder that private company's business.

"Our gripe is not so much with the operations of tour companies, because they are Bahamians and they too are in the transport business," he explained. "But what we are against is the illegal practices of these companies where they are operating like taxi drivers. Bahamas Experience should not be in the business of stopping taxi drivers through the type of operations they have with Kerzner International, that's what we are against. We have been, over the last eight to 10 years, dealing with matters that have involved taxi drivers and transportation workers in the country. What we have seen is that the business of transportation has been taken away from taxi drivers, either from political patronage, or sheer money people coming into the business, and displacing what I term the prime reproducers in transportation in our country."

Johnson said his letter to the labor minister was the union's first step in aggressively reclaiming their position in the economic playing field. He said if nothing is done, he will be forced to take further action.