Rabat – The Moroccan Association for Intercontinental Road Transportation in Morocco (AMTRI-Maroc), the Moroccan Association for Transportation and Logistics (AMTL), and the National Federation for Multimodal Transportation (FNTM) have called all international road transportation professionals to go on a 48 hours strike, starting Monday, October 14, at midnight.
The three organizations called for the strike during a press conference, on October 10. At the press conference they discussed the difficulties facing professionals in the domains of transportation and logistics.
The professionals are demanding a modification of the 1974 royal decree, placing responsibility on the drivers in cases where the vehicles contain illegal products.
Drivers are calling for an urgent implementation of transport documents, describing precisely the contents of the cargo. They also request the application of the weight limitations.
The organizations also demanded that the National Company for Transportation and Logistics (SNTL) pay their outstanding debts, outstanding since 2010, for the benefit of all transportation companies in Morocco.
The presidents of the three organizations calling for the strike said that “the strike will cause undesirable losses for a number of parties.” They also invited the ministry of transportation and logistics “to engage in a serious dialogue with professionals of the domain.”
The ministry reiterated their engagement in ensuring a productive dialogue with transportation professionals. However, the ministry expressed their shock from the timing of the strike, “which coincides with a sensitive conjuncture.”
According to statistics presented during the press conference, intercontinental merchandise transportation through Tangier has an annual growth of 13%.
The number of containers passing through the strait of Gibraltar went from 160,000 containers 10 years ago, to around 300,000 in 2018.
The number is estimated to reach 500,000 by 2025.
