After two violent attacks and multiple incidents of assault on taxi drivers, the United Steel Workers (USW) is calling for urgent and immediate action from elected officials. Despite calls from the USW to deal with taxi driver safety, little action has been taken.

A taxi driver from Regina Cabs is recovering from multiple stab wounds to the throat, chest and stomach after a violent attack on Friday morning, April 13. The driver remains in critical condition.

The attack serves as a reminder of the brutal stabbing of Iqbal Singh Sharma who was stabbed multiple times in 2016. That attack left him as a paraplegic and his life has forever changed. These two attacks are sadly just examples of the dangers that taxi drivers face every shift, as physical and verbal attacks are all too common.

“We are calling on our municipal and provincial governments to take action on taxi driver safety,” says Malik Draz, Chair of the USW Taxi Council representing over 600 drivers in Saskatchewan. “A worker should not have to die in order for change to happen.”

“Taxi drivers are workers trying to provide for their families and come home safely at the end of the day,” says Patrick Veinot, USW Staff Representative. “Not only does everyone have a right to come home safely, but all workers hurt on the job deserve access to workers’ compensation and we are working to make sure that happens.”

“These attacks are just the ones that make the headlines,” according to Mohamed Ameer who also drives for Regina Cabs. “Drivers in this city face verbal and physical assaults on a daily basis. We need safer working conditions for all taxi drivers. I want changes to be made before I watch another co-worker suffer a preventable injury.”