GUWAHATI, Aug 6 - The common platform of various motor transport trade unions of Assam has extended its support to the 24-hour all-India strike of motor transport workers tomorrow.
A statement by the common platform said that the trade unions opposed the amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which was cleared in the Lok Sabha recently.
�If the amendment Bill comes into force, the vehicle owners, drivers and the insurance companies will incur heavy losses. The Bill is anti-people and anti-employees, as it says that branded company spares are to be used and this will affect the small-scale enterprises in the automobile manufacturing sector,� the platform said in the statement.
It added that its persistent demands for pension, medical allowance and educational allowance for children of transport workers elicited no response from an insensitive State government. Moreover, it said, the transport workers were suffering from lack of safety and security, with a spurt in kidnapping and killing of vehicle drivers.
�The State government has totally ignored these incidents. Nor any compensation has been paid to the kin of those killed,� it said.
The statement has been endorsed by the All India Road transport Workers� Federation, Assam State Committee; Sadou Asom Motor Shramik Jutiya Parishad; North East Heavy Goods Carrier Truck Owners and Drivers Welfare Association; Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union and Asom Motor Shramik Federation.
