London mayor faces legal challenge from Pak trade union leader

LONDON: British Pakistani Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is facing legal challenge from a British Pakistani trade union leader who led a successful legal challenge earlier to the private hire giant Uber.Yaseen Aslam, the former Uber driver turned full time trade union leader, has started a legal case against the Mayor of London over the introduction of a congestion charge which they will be forced to pay under current plans.Yaseen Aslam said that the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is heading the legal complaint and will be approaching the London High Court seeking a judicial review. The drivers claim the charge discriminates against those from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds as an overwhelming majority of drivers comes from Asian and African backgrounds and from other minorities and plans by Sadiq Khan have affected them directly.The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is being introduced in central London in April to reduce traffic, and will charge vehicles £11.50 per day to drive into the heart of the city but licenced black cabs and private hire vehicles (PHVs) are exempt but the exemption will be lifted for PHVs - including Uber cars - in April.In an interview with The News here, Yaseen Aslam said the charge on minicab drivers is indirect discrimination under the Equality Act. He argued the charge is being imposed on a largely BAME workforce while those driving traditional black cabs - who are predominantly white - continue to be exempt which is race discrimination.“We have warned Sadiq Khan to review his policy or face us in the court. We hope the mayor sees sense and scraps this policy that promises to push thousands of drivers into deeper poverty," said Yaseen Aslam, the union's United Private Hire Drivers (UPHD) branch secretary.He said: "It is completely discriminatory that poor drivers have to pay this charge while black cabs continue to be exempt. Our fight will be in the courts and in the streets.”Yaseen complained that ethnic minority drivers voted for Sadiq Khan in elections and hoped that he will work differently and will protect interests of workers but he has taken discriminatory steps to please the lobby of black drivers.A spokesman for Sadiq Khan said the number of private hire vehicles entering London's congestion charge zone had grown exponentially - from 4,000 a day in 2003 to more than 18,000 today."Sadiq simply isn't prepared to ignore the damaging impact this has on congestion and increasing air pollution," he said. "Congestion has a crippling impact on businesses across the capital. At the same time, our toxic air in London is a major public health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children, leading to thousands of premature deaths and increases the risk of asthma and dementia," said the spokesman.The spokesman added: "Most other motorists, from private cars to small business owners, are liable for the congestion charge. Removing the congestion charge exemption for private hire vehicles is a key part of our plans to both reduce congestion and to protect Londoners from harmful emissions from polluting vehicles."

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