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Unions:Hauliers, farmers' protests generated by lack of dialogue between gov't and transport industry officials
The hauliers and farmers' protests having spread to 24 counties in Romania are the consequence of the lack of dialogue between the government and representatives of the transport industry in recent years, according to the National Union of Romania's Road Hauliers (UNTRR).
"We are witnessing an unprecedented situation that certainly would not have been reached had the government's involvement in the hauliers' problems been real and sustained over time. What we have been missing for a long time in the relationship between the authorities and the organisations representing the hauliers is precisely this dialogue, which should have found a solution to the problems facing the industry by now. We believe that the demands of the protesters are real, even if the way of expressing them is atypical. Their claims overlap older haulage problems that we flagged to the authorities over the years. The indifference with which governments dealt with these problems delayed their resolution until now, when hauliers have reacted. What we see in the streets today mirrors regulatory delays, an unbalanced insurance market and a lack of long-term vision. Let's not forget that road haulage is vital to the economy, being Romania's largest exporter of services," UNTRR's Secretary General Radu Dinescu is quoted as saying in a press statement.
UNTRR also says that some of the protesters' demands were reported long time ago, with some of them having been solved and solutions to others being delayed.