Truck drivers' strike

The truck drivers' strike continues in many provinces across the country. The strikers are demanding the suspension of a recently enacted traffic law.

As with every autonomous social movement, the ruling power criminalises those who act for their rights and freedoms. The strikers are thus portrayed as a threat to state security and the national interest! The state trade union organisation, the UGTA, is repeatedly announcing that the strike is over, even though this movement has no connection with the UGTA.

What are the demands of the striking lorry drivers? First and foremost, as mentioned above, is the suspension of the draft traffic law in its current punitive form. Other demands include: the availability of original spare parts, which have become scarce and prohibitively expensive, threatening the viability of the profession; the rehabilitation of deteriorated roads covered with potholes across the country, which lead to daily unintentional offences such as lighting failures and technical damage caused by faulty infrastructure. Who can believe that this calls into question the ‘national interest’ or ‘state security’!

Once again, it is the issue of repression against autonomous, independent trade unionism that is at stake.