London: Nearly 1,000
truck drivers drove into London to protest
rising fuel costs after crude touched $135
a barrel. The drivers demanded concessions
from the government, including an “essential
user rebate” and cancellation of the
proposed 2 p/litre fuel duty beginning October.
“They have concessions
for agriculture, buses, why can't they give
us a bit. We just want to make an honest
living. Most of the small firms will go
up the wall,” says a Suffolk lorry
driver, Mike.
Truckers say fuel costs
eat up 60 per cent of their earnings whereas
it should be around the 30-35 per cent mark
to be profitable.
Moreover the domestic
industry is threatened by foreign transporters,
especially from Europe.
Says another lorry
driver, Paul Strong, “We are most
expensive in Europe. Why can't we be in
line with them?”
Agrees another lorry
driver, Chris Lewis, “They are getting
a lot of fuel duty from us. Fifty per cent
is what goes into the treasury. It’s
not right.”
Pressure is growing
on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
His government plans to raise road tax for
higher polluting vehicles. But the more
immediate concern for the British PM is
to tackle the truckers.
These drivers hope
their protests will send the message across.
Its no longer a problem, they say, it's
a crisis.
They want the government
to make concessions and say if they don't
get what they want, they are prepared to
take it further.
