India truckers planning strike

 

 India's motor carriers have planned a strike beginning Jan. 5 to protest the government's inaction over the prices of diesel fuel and tires.

   Members of the All India Transport Workers?Association and All India Motor Congress are threatening an indefinite strike after the Indian government has stalled on giving a 20 cent-per liter reduction on diesel prices. Truckers are also asking for a 35 percent reduction in the price of tires. They say slowing demand, coupled with fuel and tire prices that have yet to come down even as commodity prices have dipped, has made their livelihood unsustainable. They say that other sectors, like textile manufacturers and exporters, have received such subsidies from the government.

   The vast majority of India's truckers is self-employed, or part of small one- to five-vehicle operations. With much of the country's inland transport reliant on trucking, a strike could severely affect goods movement. 

 

Source: American Shipper