The GTL taxi federation wants to relax the language requirements for taxi drivers. Pierre Steenberghen of the taxi federation GTL extension is afraid that many taxi drivers driving between Brussels Airport and the capital will fail the language test. By the end of this year, drivers must be able to provide proof of language proficiency if they wish to obtain a driver's pass. For taxi companies that work with foreign drivers, this is an impossible task, says GTL, the national group of companies with taxi and rental vehicles with drivers.
“Contact must be possible in Dutch, but too high demands can mean the end of the taxi driver as a job where lower-skilled profiles and newcomers are given opportunities,” according to the GTL Taxi Federation.
Steenberghen is afraid that many taxi drivers driving between Brussels Airport and the capital will fail the language test. He is therefore calling for a relaxation of the conditions and would like the required B1 level to be lowered and for the government to distinguish between taxi drivers who have been working for a long time and newcomers.
“Many people who drive for Zaventemse, and therefore Flemish taxi companies, come from Brussels and know little or no Dutch. I fear that about 80 percent of them will not obtain the required certificate. Because of the corona crisis, they have had no chance to retrain. The level B1 is quite high, even in Flanders many taxi drivers do not reach this level, I'm afraid. ”
