By: JOC Staff

Walkout would begin at midnight on Aug. 5
Unionized truckers in India called for an indefinite strike starting at midnight on Aug. 5 that threatens to disrupt freight movements across the country.

Operators, under the aegis of the All India Motor Transport Congress, are demanding an immediate review of toll rates, streamlining of taxes currently levied on diesel fuel prices and withdrawal of anti-dumping duty on imported tires.

“Toll rates are too high. The approximate toll paid per month per truck is nearly equivalent to the monthly installment on the vehicle,” the union leaders said.

They also said the introduction of anti-dumping duty on imported tires prompted local tire manufacturers to increase their prices steeply.

"We had apprised the Transport Ministry of our decision to proceed on an indefinite strike, but the government has failed to resolve the issue,” the leaders said.

The Transport Congress, representing more than 6 million truck operators, called on the government to urgently address their concerns in the interest of the industry and the country as a whole.

A prolonged strike is expected to have a serious adverse impact on the movement of containerized cargo to and from gateway ports as a substantial volume of hinterland traffic is carried by long-haul operators.

The strike threat comes at a time when some of the major ports including Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru) are facing severe congestion problems amid rising cargo volume and rail delays, which prompted several major ocean carriers to impose congestion surcharges on the trade.

Source: The Journal of Commerce

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