Labor Watch - Drivers and owners of trucks engaged in transporting phosphate between Alshedieyah phosphate mines in Ma’an and unloading locations in Aqaba signaled their intention to carry out a strike in case no agreement was reached with the management of the Phosphate Mines Company in order to increase haulage fares to JOD 11.500 per ton of phosphate, and to JOD 11.000 per ton of sulfur.
Drivers and truck owners, during a meeting held in a public hall in Ma’an, emphasized the significance of their demands to catch up with operational cost of trucks, as well as variance of present fuel prices; considering that the transportation sector is a major economic contributor and an integral part of the company.
In the meeting, they stressed that present haulage fares did not suffice or cover operation costs incurred by owners which led the sector to a circle of losses; they went on clarifying that for these reasons truck owners would stop operating their trucks due to lack of financial returns, and due to failure on the part of the company management to address their problems.
They reminded that they were undergoing hard times in terms of the continuously increasing operational cost which reached the limit of 100% represented in spare parts, tires, lube oils, maintenance, insurance, and drivers’ wages and incentives.
Furthermore, they emphasized that transportation sector in the Governorate is considered one of the major economic pillars for the local community, on which 80% of the population depend, and which comprises more than 700 trucks supporting thousands of families; many social segments benefit from this sector either directly or indirectly. This sector is being subjected to injustice and marginalization by the management of the Phosphate Company in terms of addressing its difficulties which brought it to uneasy economic conditions.
Participants in the meeting concluded the formation of a committee to represent the coalition of transport companies’ owners to contact and address the various official and security agencies in the Governorate to represent their issues and seek solutions to their demands which they considered legal and legitimate.