As announced at the end of February by the trade union coordination of the road transport sector in Morocco, composed of the CDT, the UMT, FDT, UGTM, UNTM, the carriers of the Kingdom are observing a 72-hour national strike from this Monday, March 7. This strike, which may be extended, will certainly have an impact on the supply of basic necessities to grocery stores and souks. Point.
Unable to bear the continuous rise in fuel prices in addition to the absence of aid measures for the benefit of professionals, the trade union centers of the CDT, FDT, UMT, UGTM and the UNTM announced a strike 72h carriers from this Monday, just after their meeting with the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, as part of the social dialogue.
Joined by MoroccoLatestNews UK on this subject, Miloudi Moukharik, general secretary of the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT) tells us that the reason for this walkout is none other than the soaring fuel prices.
” Fuel prices have increased and impacted transporters. The latter cannot pass on this soaring price to citizens and goods, otherwise it will be a disaster, knowing that basic necessities are already on the rise.“, explains Moukharik. The carriers therefore felt compelled to react, he tells us.
” We, as the central trade union of the UMT, during our meeting with the head of government, the first preliminary question that we put to him before getting to the heart of the social dialogue is the increase in the prices of basic necessities, and above all, soaring fuel prices. When we see that the barrel of oil increases every day, we wonder until when this will continue?“, raises the trade unionist.
According to the SG of the UMT, ” the State must find a regulatory mechanism, either via subsidies for the benefit of carriers, or by finding, for all citizens, a regulatory mechanism“, he says, citing as an example ” taxes that are too high, whether VAT or TIC (domestic consumption tax) on the price of a liter of fuel, and which must be lowered”.
The trade union centers which observed the strike on Monday, believe that the State must make an effort to protect the citizens and also point the finger at the fuel distributors who make huge profit margins.
” We think fuel distributors are taking a big bite, and as a result, their profits are increasing. On the litre, it seems, the distributors earn up to 1.5 DH and the State about 3 DH in tax. We therefore believe that distributors, in the context of social solidarity, should reduce their profits. Otherwise it is an infernal circle that the citizens will live“, warns Mukharik.
During their meeting with the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch had promised the unions to “ make a gesture for the benefit of the carriers, and that he was studying how to help and give subsidies to the latter“. Promises which the general secretaries of the five largest trade union centers in the country took note of, but did not prevent them from holding the strike. Why ?
” At the time, it was just intentions that the government was studying to see if it could grant subsidies to carriers. But how will this happen and when? We didn’t know. Besides, carriers have been seriously affected by this surge in fuel prices. And they cannot precisely impact this increase on the prices of the goods that they transport otherwise, it is the social crisis. That’s why we went on strike“, replies Moukharik.
While the carriers of the Kingdom are on strike for 72 hours, the SG of the UMT calls on the public authorities to intervene urgently.
” If we start this cycle of strikes, especially in the transport sector, it is not in the interest of our country. The government must open a dialogue, intervene and take concrete measures in favor of carriers“, concludes the trade unionist.
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