Reported by: PMOI/MEK
Iran, July 30, 2018 – Truck drivers across Iran are extending their nationwide strike on Monday into the 8th consecutive day in various cities, including Mashhad, Torbate Heydariyeh, Qazvin, and Zarrinshahr.
July 30 – Chalus, #Iran
Video shows long que at a local gas station.
Truckers are continuing their 8th consecutive day of strikes.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/T0tCqOMTHm— P.M.O.I (@Mojahedineng) July 30, 2018
Truck drivers in Mashhad refused to accept any new deliveries, continuing their protests and seeking answers regarding their long-stated demands.
In Torbate Heydariyeh of northwest Iran, the truckers are continuing their strike, as reports from a variety of cities indicate gas stations are running out of fuel as trucks are refusing to provide deliveries.
July 30 – #Iran
Eight day of truckers strike spreading to cities across the country.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ZiQFlxmJRd— P.M.O.I (@Mojahedineng) July 30, 2018
Long ques are reported in many cities, including Chalus and Shahsavar, near Tehran.
During the past seven days, the truckers’ strike has spread to at least 125 cities in 30 provinces throughout the country.
July 30 – Saveh, central #Iran
Eight day of truckers strike and no trucks are seen on this road.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/Qo7vhHuNi6— P.M.O.I (@Mojahedineng) July 30, 2018
The expansion of the nationwide strikes
The second wave of nationwide strikes by truck drivers started on July 22nd. Despite the ruses, sabotage, and threats of the Iranian regime, Iran’s truckers decided to start and continue their strike.
In the past days, the Iranian regime has tried to end the strike at any price. In Mashhad, the regime’s agents tried to trick the truck drivers to end their strike by selling them cheap tires. However, Mashhad’s terminal remained empty and no truck driver came to buy tires.
In Sarbandar, Khuzestan, the regime’s officials started using the transportation ministry’s trucks to counter the effects of the nationwide strike. The regime took similar measures in Shar-e Kord. In Kermanshah, the regime’s agents tore off the license plates of truckers’ vehicles to threaten them, but the families of the truckers confronted them.
In Bandar Abbas, the regime tried to infiltrate their own agents among the truckers and normalize the situation.
Iranian opposition NCRI President Maryam Rajavi praised the truckers’ nationwide strike.
Hail to Iran’s truck drivers and their nationwide strike. I urge everyone and especially the youth, to show their solidarity with them. I call on relevant international workers and truck owners’ unions and organizations to lend support to the toiling truck drivers in #Iran.
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 25, 2018
Background
The first round of the truck drivers’ strike began back in May and continued for 12 days. Truckers in seven provinces began the strike by refusing to deliver any goods and this movement quickly spread to 274 cities across the country, transforming to a general strike shaking the regime’s corrupt pillars.
This movement brought to a halt a large portion of the country’s transportation network, placing deep impact on the regime’s already fragile economy.
Despite resorting to a variety of pretext and crackdown methods, Iranian regime officials were forced to give into a portion of the drivers’ demands, including a 20 percent rise in load rates, averaging load commission percentages between 12 to 14 percent, and stopping plans to launch tracking measures on the truckers’ commuting.
The drivers’ main demands include increased load rates, retirement rights after 25 years of work experience, taking into consideration the drivers’ harsh working conditions, lowering insurance fees, lowering prices of spare parts, especially tires and oil as the market experiences numerous ups and downs, increasing the drivers’ daily diesel fuel ration, decreasing authorities extortions, including road commissions and further charges upon delivery of goods in ports and load terminals stations to companies owned by influential figures, and stopping all repressive measures by authorities against the drivers.
