Transport strike affects economic activities in Morocco

05/04/2007

With no compromise in sight between transport unions and the government, Morocco's transport strike continues to be a serious obstacle to economic activities.

By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 05/04/2007

[Hassan Benmehdi] Taxi drivers on strike

Morocco's transport workers went on strike again on Tuesday (April 3rd) after failing to reach agreement with authorities on a controversial road safety bill. Last month, commercial drivers across the country went on strike to protest a proposed law which would impose harsh penalties on traffic law violators. The strike was temporarily called off on March 15th after transport minister Karim Ghellab invited the strikers to take part in talks.

The proposed bill allows the government to confiscate driving licenses, impound vehicles, levy hefty fines and even imprison drivers in the event of an accident.

Despite numerous meetings between the Transport Ministry and unions such as the Transportation Confederated Professionals Union and the Syndicated Council of Transport Workers and Travellers, the strike has dragged on.

Faced with the unavailability of taxis and buses, travellers in both urban and rural areas have been paying exorbitant prices for non-approved carriers. According to managers in the key ports of Casablanca and Kenitra, the lack of lorries is delaying the delivery of goods. The prices of vegetables, fruit and basic foodstuffs have risen steadily and many observers feel the situation could worsen over the next few days.

Speaking with Magharebia, one of the striking taxi drivers on the Route Ouled Ziane in Casablanca said that road accidents could not be reduced by raising the bar on fines. "It would be perfectly understandable for all motorists to take part in our strike, as the new laws will affect them just as much," he declared.

El Bouzid Khallouf, who is in his fifties and owns a lorry, thinks this new law will have to be revised before it can be adopted. "This move to take away drivers’ licences is only likely to encourage even more corruption. We don’t want to be bribing the police and traffic officers to be able to drive around in peace." Yassine, a Casablanca taxi driver, feels that confiscating driving licences poses a real threat to the profession. "Given the mediocre earnings we receive each month, we refuse to be deprived of our licences every now and then for mistakes we rarely, if ever, make."

Berrada Abdelghani, Secretary-General of the National Transport Association, stressed in a statement that the bill requires a few changes which take workers’ interests into consideration.

While waiting for a solution to the conflict, unionists say they are prepared to continue the strike until they get their message across. In their view, the fight against road traffic accidents should be directed not at repressing drivers, but at raising traffic control standards and improving the social and pay conditions for those working in the transport sector.

Transport Minister Karim Ghellab insisted that he will not give in to what he termed as blackmail. He stated that his aim is to make the roads safer by reducing the "slaughter" taking place on Morocco’s highways.