International transport professionals threaten strike, demand Dh6,000 in support

Agadir24

Moroccan international transport truck drivers have threatened to go on an open-ended strike and stop transporting Moroccan exports to Europe and Africa, if the government does not respond to their demands.

During a meeting attended by the bodies representing the road freight transport sector, professionals denounced “the government’s failure to respond to its promises to approve monthly support, as long as the price of a litre of diesel exceeds 10 dirhams.”

The concerned drivers announced that they will hold a protest on July 24, in an attempt to give the relevant ministry a chance to engage in dialogue with them, while they cling to their demand to approve support worth 6,000 dirhams per month, and not “intermittently.”

The same drivers confirmed, according to a statement by the professional bodies participating in the meeting, that “the continued absence of government promises makes them ready for a national strike and a work stoppage,” noting that they “are being subjected to provocations at the Mediterranean port, the Casablanca port, and the Guerguerat crossing.”

In response to this issue, the regional secretary of the General Union of Transport Professionals, Al-Sharqi Al-Hashemi, revealed that “the government promised drivers to provide support on a monthly basis as long as the price of diesel exceeds 10 dirhams per liter, while it has not fulfilled its promise to date.”

Al-Sharqi added that the current support is provided “intermittently,” which makes it “not at all useful in the face of rising diesel prices,” noting that this intermittent support “is not suitable for heavy-duty trucks that travel long distances to serve Moroccan exports,” according to his expression.

The same speaker stressed that “the government’s failure to respond means a strike and a halt to the export of Moroccan products to Africa and Europe, as well as not transporting them within the local market,” noting that a group of Moroccan drivers in the field of international transport “have begun to migrate to other countries due to the burdensome costs of fuel and the meagerness of the planned support.”

The union activist pointed out that the professionals are heading towards sending their demands to the Ministry of Equipment and Transport, with a protest stand in front of the ministry’s headquarters, and in the event of the absence of any response or dialogue meetings, they will resort to “stopping work,” as he put it.