Jordan- Private truck owners strike, demanding regulatory changes 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Owners and drivers of private trucks and trailers on Saturday announced that they would continue a strike they started on Thursday to demand "better regulation" of their industry.

The truckers have stopped transporting containers from the Aqaba Container Terminal to the governorates, and are calling for the creation of a company to group all sole proprietors of trucks and trailers, Ali Tarawneh, head of the Owners and Drivers of Private Trucks Association, said on Saturday.

Currently, there are 295 freight companies in Jordan that compete with private trucks and trailers. These companies have a fleet of 600 trailers, while individual owner-operators have 4,100 trailers, according to Tarawneh.

"The companies' fleet transports 68 per cent of the containers from Aqaba to the rest of the Kingdom, while the rest is transported by owners and drivers of private trailers," he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

"The fleet owned by individuals is much larger than that of the companies. It is unfair that our fleet transports such a small quantity of containers from Aqaba," Tarawneh added.

"We want better regulation of the sector and a larger share in transporting containers. The number of freight companies is huge and needs to be reconsidered," he said, calling on the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) to facilitate the creation of a company that incorporates all individual truck and trailer owner-operators.

LTRC officials were unavailable for comment.

The striking truck owners and drivers will continue to transport oil and food products during their work stoppage, Tarawneh said.

"We will continue to transport food items and oil products from Aqaba to the rest of the Kingdom, but we will stop transporting other products such as garments from Aqaba until our demands are met."