As the week of 23rd July began, truck drivers in large industrial cities such as Tabriz, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Bandar Abbas, and Ahwaz reestablished their strike. Drivers in the capital, Tehran, were also joining in.
Those who kept up with the news of the two-week nationwide strike by truck drivers in May will know that their main demands were for higher fares and lower repair costs.
In the same month of May, the general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), Stephen Cotton, wrote to Hassan Rouhani stating that ITF backs fair wages for truckers. He also reiterated the need for a free trade union that can pursue transport safety for drivers.
So, why are the drivers back on strike? The simple reason, because nothing has changed for them. Today, 24th July, more protests took place and drivers parked their trucks on the Chalous freeway, up north, after a lorry tipped over due to pitiable road conditions.
The Chalous Road is one of the most important highways in the country. As well as being a trucking route, it is used by a lot of people from Tehran driving to popular tourist spots at weekends. The accident happened near to the city of Marzanabad and, as the trucker’s protest caused some delay on the roads, many used older routes to reach their destinations.
Truck terminals or loading areas in Zahedan and Mashhad were completely out of use and drivers spent their day sharing footage of it on social media. A video of the glass and crystal factory in Isfahan was also among today’s collection with the driver who sent the video saying that not a single truck had come so nothing had been loaded.
It is worth pointing out that some of the younger drivers are university graduates who have been unsuccessful in finding more appropriate jobs. On Sunday, Mike Pompeo addressed a gathering of Iranian-Americans in California. He said, “I think everyone can agree that the regime in Iran has been a nightmare for the Iranian people, and it is important that your unity on that point is not diminished by differences elsewhere.”
“I want to tell you that the Trump administration dreams the same dreams for the people of Iran as you do, and through our labors and God’s providence that day will come true.”
“Forty years of ordinary Iranians thrown in jail for the peaceful expression of their rights. Why has the regime conducted itself in such an abhorrent way over the past 40 years and subjected its people to these conditions? It’s an important question.”
“The level of corruption and wealth among Iranian leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government.”
The return of the truck drivers’ strike gives the truth to Pompeo’s words, further evidence of the people of Iran determinedly standing up against these ruling oppressors and saying “No more.”
