HIBAPRESS – Ahmed Al-Musaed
The city of Oujda witnessed, on Monday, April 20th, a near-total paralysis in the traffic of taxis of the second category (small), following the professionals' local strike, which ended with a protest in the middle of the city, condemning what they described as the "deteriorating social and economic conditions" experienced by the sector.
Hundreds of drivers and professionals gathered near the headquarters of the Moroccan Labor Union, raising angry slogans denouncing the continuous rise in fuel prices and the cost of raw materials. The protesters, under the banner of the local coordination of trade union bodies, confirmed that the continued inflation of costs threatens the "social peace" of the professionals and makes continuing to provide the service almost impossible in the absence of tangible accompanying measures. In an attempt to contain the state of boiling witnessed by the streets of the eastern region's capital, M'hamed Atfaoui, the Wali of the Oriental region, the governor of the Oujda-Angad prefecture, received this morning at the prefecture headquarters a delegation representing the local coordination of small taxi professionals. According to informed sources, the meeting was held at the request of the trade union bodies, and in the presence of security and administrative officials and representatives of the concerned sectors, where the professionals presented a request file to the Wali that includes issues, the most prominent of which are: the repercussions of the high cost of fuel: demanding direct support commensurate with the size of successive increases; Secret transport: activating strict monitoring to limit the phenomenon of unlicensed transport that depletes the sector's professional income; Social protection: addressing the problems related to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and the duality of performance; Digitization: accelerating the pace of processing the electronic confidence licenses file and modernizing the administration. Trade union sources stated that the meeting went in a "positive atmosphere and the language of frankness prevailed in it," as the Wali of the region showed his deep understanding of the constraints facing the drivers. Atfaoui pledged urgent intervention to address the issues that fall within his local and regional jurisdiction, with his commitment to raise the central demands to the competent government authorities. The meeting concluded with an agreement to keep communication channels open and continue coordination between the regional authorities and social partners, to ensure the finding of sustainable solutions that alleviate the burden on professionals and ensure the return of smoothness to transport services in the city.
