Though every one thought that it is going to be one long struggle between Indian government and the truck owners and drivers, it finished very quickly. Indian truck drivers called off their strike yesterday. In protest against rising fuel price and high road taxes, the truck owners of India went on strike on July 1, 2008. Nearly, 4 million trucks went off the road due to the strike and worsened the condition of the country’s economy. Already, prices of foods and other daily necessities are high due to inflation and fuel price rise. The truck owners' strike pushed price of foods higher.
BBC reports:
Yesterday, truck owners and drivers called off the strike after government officials held a meeting with them at night. In the meeting it was decided that for one year, government would freeze the road tolls on high ways.
Charan Singh Lohara of the All-India Motor Transport Congress, the main operators group, said the government had decided to form a committee to look into these issues.
A senior government official expressed his dissatisfaction over freezing road tolls and said that this would decrease government’s revenue. Indian government rose prices of oil two times this year and truck drivers have been suffering most due to the rising fuel prices.
It is not only Indian truck drivers who are suffering from this problem. Last month, 13,000 truck drivers went on strike in South Korea as rising fuel were hurting their profits. This led to serious political tension in Asia’s fourth largest economy. Finding no other option, the government had to deploy military vehicles to carry the goods.
Related articles:
International Herald Tribune
BBC
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