Fuel price hike irks lorry owners

They plan to launch an indefinite strike to press for their demands

Irked by the fuel price hike and the reluctance of the State government to reduce road tax, the lorry owners, under the Lorry Owners Federation in Kerala, have decided to go ahead with an indefinite protest.

A token strike by suspending all inter-State and State services will be organised on July 10 to draw the attention of the government to their demands.

The federation claims that the government, which was considerate to the demand of private bus owners in view of COVID-19 crisis, is least bothered about discussing the lorry owners’ plight in Kerala. Since the launch of lockdown regulations, lorry owners have been going through a very critical situation that can be addressed only with a favourable government intervention, it says.

E.K. Shaju, State general secretary of the federation says there is no hike in the lorry service charge despite the recent hikes in fuel prices. “The owners operated the service by fighting all the health threats during the COVID-19 time. Many of the drivers had even faced the harassment of officials during the inter-State service. If we had stopped service, it would have been a big trouble for the State to get even the essential commodities,” he says.

According to Mr. Shaju, the government should be ready to suspend the road tax and decrease the amount to be contributed to the lorry owners’ welfare fund. There should be measures to increase the service charge to compensate the loss subsequent to the fuel price hike, he says.

The Lorry Owners Federation also says the compulsion on the part of the enforcement wings to fix GPS in goods vehicles is troubling many lorry operators who are already facing huge loss in the business. Some relaxation should be granted in this area at least during the lockdown period in our State, it says.

The proposed token strike, according to the federation leaders, will ensure the support of Lorry Owners Welfare Federation, All Kerala truck Owners Association, and Kerala Container Carriers’ Association. They say an indefinite strike will be declared stalling goods movement if the government fails to take some favourable decisions on the demands.

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