The threat by the Jaintia Hills Truck Owners Association (JHTOA) to go on strike in protest at moves by cement factories in the region has given plenty of apprehension to local truck drivers working for those same cement companies.
The JHTOA yesterday announced that it will strike from October 20 against the cement companies if they fail to adhere to agreements made between the two sides and the state government.
The JHTOA has alleged that the cement factories have bought hundreds of new trucks, which pose a direct threat to the local truck owners’ livelihoods as the latter have yet to clear the loans they took out to buy their trucks.
Speaking to Highland Post today, some truck drivers working for cement factories, like Star Cement, Dalmia, and Topcem, said that more than 400 local truck drivers are dependent on these factories for their own livelihoods and they fear that such drastic steps by the JHTOA will hurt them financially.
“We fear that the strike will affect us because the owners of the local trucks in this region have only 100-200 trucks at the most, while the truck divers from this region who drive the cement factories’ trucks are not less than 400,” they lamented.
Heipormi Suting, an ex-member of the truck drivers’ association, supported some of the JHTOA on some points, like its demand that the cement warehouses not be moved from Byrnihat to Guwahati and that the carrying rate of Rs 7 per kilometre be implemented.
However, he added, “Whatever the JHTOA does, it must also take into consideration the livelihoods of the locals who work as truck drivers for the cement factories.”
He suggested that both the JHTOA and the cement companies should come to amicable terms. Suting also expressed fear that the strike could result in untoward incidents and be misused by miscreants for nefarious purposes.
“The cement companies should also not suppress the owners of the local trucks by bringing in more trucks but everything should be within the limit so that everyone survives,” he said.
