Discussion Board

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Discussion Board

Introduction

The term “Business Ethics” refers to the inculcation of moral values and ethical principles, in a business firm or organizational environment, to promote the values of equality, respect, integrity, and truthfulness among the employees. It is also known as Corporate Ethics. These values trickle down from the higher management level like CEOs, Directors, managing directors, etc. and reach the lower level staff like first line staff which includes, laborers and technical workers. It applies to all aspects of the business and defines the conduct of each and every individual within an organization. Most of the times, these norms, values, and practices guide a business and provide guiding principles to the management so that they can run a business efficiently. Such a case of business ethics could be observed clearly in the case of a news article titled “Luton airport cab drivers strike over pay rates” (Booth). The article was published in a well-known newspaper, The Guardian, on May 1, 2019, and raises awareness about a highly prevalent ethical issue in today’s global business market.

Discussion

The article is about a group of mini-cab drivers who were hired by a private cab company, but are not happy with their current pay rate. The article discusses the issue of the cab-drivers hired by Addison Lee, which is a mini-cab service on Luton Airport. The cab drivers decided to go on a strike on Wednesday after getting disappointed from the pay rates they are receiving even after working for very long hours.

The drivers, at Addison Lee, hold the stance that they are being paid £4.72 per hour, which is way low than the minimum wage rate decided by the state, that is £8.21. They are complaining that although despite working for more than 70 hours a week, they are being paid very miserly. The constitution of the United Kingdom and the judges have emphasized multiple times that the drivers hired by the private cab companies like Addison Lee and Uber would b treated like the normal workforce working in any other organization and should be paid according to these legislations.

Luton is the fifth busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the cab companies make a lot of money by keeping their cabs alert at the airport. The 50 drivers that participated in the decision of going on a strike, stated that they have taken this decision after multiple attempts of discussions and negotiations with the management of the company. The drivers have the stance that they tried to talk to the management of Addison Lee multiple times regarding this issue, they even protested in front of the office, but they higher authorities never showed interest in their demands and always ignored them. In light of the current situation, the drivers state, they are left with no option than going on a strike and stop working until the management listens to them.

In my personal opinion, the demand put forward by the drivers of Addison Lee is very just and it should be fulfilled immediately. The minimum wage rate described by the state is their ultimate right, which should be provided to them on a priority basis.

Conclusion

In the light of the above-mentioned article, it can be seen that the issue of equal or appropriate payment is not a problem which is limited to a specific region or country but is common in all over the world. The demand, for a pay according to the minimum statutory wage, put up by the drivers hired by Addison Lee is very much just and should be catered to at the most urgent basis. The pays of the mini-cab drivers should be adjusted urgently to the minimum wage decided by the state so that workers can be satisfied and can resume working as soon as possible.

Works Cited

Booth, Robert. "Luton Airport Cab Drivers Strike over Pay Rates". The Guardian, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/01/luton-airport-cab-drivers-strike-over-pay-rates. Accessed 8 May 2019.