6 Million Indian Truckers Down Tools

Indian news sources have reported that more than six million of the nation’s trucks are off the road at the beginning of 2009, as a strike has been called following deadlock in union negotiations over the price of tyres and fuel. Talks stalled late on Sunday evening when Road, Transport and Highways secretary Brahm Dutt failed to reach a satisfactory agreement with the All-Indian Motor Transport Congress. The AIMTC’s major targets were a 10 rupee deduction in diesel costs and a rationalisation of tyre prices.

The Congress’s president, Charan Singh Lohara has cited the help the government has given to other industries during the economic slowdown as a prime reason for the strike to go ahead: “The government has given economic support to several industries following the global downturn. But it has not given a thought towards the problems faced by the transport industry in recession. We also want a bailout package for survival,” Lohara told the Hindustan Times.